[3] After lobbying by New South Wales Premier Neville Wran, the decision was made to situate the new museum at Darling Harbour, and construct it as part of the area's redevelopment.

[2][3] The building of the ANMM was seen by both the federal and New South Wales State governments as an important feature of the redevelopment, as it would be a major drawcard, and help fuel the commercial success of the precinct.

[3] The acceptance of a US$5 million grant for a dedicated gallery showing the links between the US and Australia resulted in the displacement of much of the staff and research areas.

[6] It was resolved that New South Wales was responsible for the additional funding, and in October 1990, the museum building was handed over to the federal government.

Design firm Frost*collective was engaged to create a new, simplified logo and branding scheme, which was then implemented across staff uniforms, advertising, exterior building signage, websites and the museum's regular publication, Signals.

The other three galleries (two along the eastern side of the top level, and a third offset from the main body of the museum) are used separately or together to host temporary exhibitions.

These include Spirit of Australia, the water speed record-holding motorboat, an anchor from HMS Sirius, flagship of the First Fleet, and Blackmores First Lady, which was used by Australian Kay Cottee when she became the first woman to sail solo, nonstop, unassisted around the world.

[22] However, in 1990, the company ran into financial difficulties, and construction was unable to continue until a charitable trust was established in 1991 to complete and operate the replica Endeavour.

[23] The vessel was completed in 1994, and spent the next ten years sailing around Australia and the world before ownership was transferred to the Australian National Maritime Museum in 2005.

[24] The Daring-class destroyer HMAS Vampire (D11) is the only ship of her class to be preserved, and was the last gun-destroyer to serve in the Royal Australian Navy.

[30] A replica of the Duyfken, a Dutch East India Company exploration vessel with historical significance as the first recorded European ship to visit Australian shores, was added to the museum's fleet in 2020.

[39] On 21 March 2021, Governor-General David Hurley AC DSC (Rtd) declared the Welcome Wall as Australia's "National Monument to Migration".

[38] This lifeboat, of a design commonly used aboard offshore drilling platforms and tanker ships, is used by the Sydney Institute of TAFE for maritime training.