Although built for the Royal Navy and remaining British property until 1950, Quiberon was one of two Q-class destroyers commissioned into the RAN during World War II.

[2] Around midnight on 1 December, Force Q located and attacked an Italian convoy of four merchant ships and escorting destroyers about 40 miles (64 km) to the north of Cape Bon.

[2][3] All four supply ships, carrying mostly troops and munitions, were sunk, and at 01:35 on 2 December Quiberon fired the final shot into the Italian torpedo boat Lupo which was part of the escort of another convoy.

[2] While returning to port, sister ship HMS Quentin was torpedoed by a German aircraft: Quiberon evacuated most of the other destroyer's personnel.

[2] After work was completed, Quiberon was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet, primarily as a convoy escort across the Indian Ocean.

[2] At the end of World War II, Quiberon was present at the Allied reoccupation of Singapore, and spent the period until February 1946 operating in the East Indies to help reestablish Dutch control, move troops, and repatriate prisoners-of-war.

[4] The ship received eight battle honours for her wartime service: "Mediterranean 1942", "North Africa 1942–43", "Atlantic 1943", "Indian Ocean 1943–44", "East Indies 1944", "Pacific 1945", "Okinawa 1945", and "Japan 1945".

[7][8] The conversions were part of an overall plan to improve the anti-submarine warfare capability of the RAN, although Quiberon and the other ships were only a 'stopgap' measure until purpose-built ASW frigates could be constructed.

[12] In October 1962 Quiberon together with HMAS Queenborough rescued 25 survivors from the Panamaian merchant steamer Kawi, which sank after being caught in a storm in the South China Sea.

She was sold for scrap to the Fujita Salvage Company Limited of Osaka, Japan on 15 February 1972, and left Sydney under tow on 10 April 1972.