[1][2][3] The ship is the third of ten evolved Cape-class patrol boats to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy.

[1][2][3] The ship was built by Austal in Henderson, Western Australia, accepted on 4 November 2022 and based at HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin, Northern Territory.

The patrol boat's primary duty lies in fisheries protection, immigration, customs and drug law enforcement operations.

This order was subsequently expanded by another two boats in April 2022, at an additional projected cost of $124 million.

[5] On 12 December 2024, four of the Cape-class vessels were commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy, one of them the Cape Naturaliste.