[14] Following a 1979 Australian and New Zealand assessment of Pacific Islands maritime patrol needs and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establishing that all maritime nations were entitled to exercise control over a 200-kilometre (120 mi) exclusive economic zone, it became evident to all parties that the Pacific Islands were in need of several patrol vessels.

In addition to simply improving diplomatic relations between the countries, Australia benefited by having their external security issues eased as it could count on its sovereign neighbours having resources to police their own waters.

[15] The Pacific Forum vessels were designed to use commercial off the shelf components, to make them easier to maintain for the small nations that would operate them.

[citation needed] The Australian government launched the A$2 billion Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Program in June 2014.

[11][17][18] A Royal Australian Navy rear admiral said upon the delivery of Taro to the Solomon Islands that the Guardian class "play an important role in tackling our shared regional security challenges [...] We are better positioned to respond to maritime threats, from illegal fishing to transnational crime, by working together, co-ordinating closely, and building our interoperability.

[20][23][24] Austal delivered the vessels without armament, but they are designed to be capable of mounting an autocannon of up to 30 mm (1.2 in) on their foredeck, and a heavy machine gun on either side of their bridge.

[3] The patrol boats operated by Papua New Guinea and Solomons Islands will be armed with 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns.

[29] Recipient nations were notified in February 2021 of a vessel experiencing cracking in the coupling between the engine and the gear box.

It was also reported that a fault in the exhaust system caused carbon monoxide to enter a normally uncrewed compartment, posing a safety risk.

While the patrol boats are gifts and become the recipient's sovereign property upon delivery,[29] the purchase contract contains provisions for Austal to provide maintenance support to the client states, for seven years, out of its Cairns facility.

[clarification needed] During a visit to Apia in June 2022, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that Australia will build an additional vessel to replace Nafanua II, which was damaged beyond repair on 5 August 2021.

[29] On 5 August 2021 the Samoan Nafanua II ran aground on a reef near Salelologa wharf while transporting police officers to Savai'i to manage a protest.

[46] On 21 December 2021 the officer-in-charge of the boat at the time of the accident, Superintendent Taito Sefo Faaoi Hunt, was found guilty on three charges of negligence by a Police disciplinary tribunal.

While Takuare was being repaired in Cairns, Tuvalu was scheduled to receive a replacement boat for Te Mataili II.