The Anzac class originated from RAN plans to replace the six River-class destroyer escorts with a mid-capability patrol frigate.

[5][7] In 1989, the Australian government announced that Melbourne-based shipbuilder AMECON (which became Tenix Defence) would build the modified MEKO 200 design.

[8][9] The Anzacs are based on Blohm + Voss' MEKO 200 PN (or Vasco da Gama-class) frigates, modified to meet Australian and New Zealand specifications and maximise the use of locally built equipment.

[3][14][15] The Australian Anzacs use a Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter; plans to replace them with Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprites were cancelled in 2008 due to ongoing problems.

[3] She was launched on 17 April 1999[8] by the wife of Admiral Chris Barrie, the Chief of the Defence Force,[citation needed] and commissioned into the RAN on 17 August 2002.

[8] In April 2003, Stuart was used to capture Pong Su, a North Korean-owned freighter involved in drug smuggling operations.

[18] Accompanied by two police launches, Stuart intercepted Pong Su 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) off Sydney on 20 April.

On 24 April, Stuart, the patrol boat USS Firebolt, and the cruiser USS Yorktown were patrolling around the Al Başrah Oil Terminal (ABOT) and Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT), with Stuart's commanding officer in tactical control of the two American warships.

[21] In February 2006, fire broke out about HMNZS Te Mana, Stuart's sister ship, during an exercise off the coast of Australia.

A boarding party from the frigate rescued three crew members being held hostage, while the fifteen Somali pirates, who had surrendered as Stuart approached, were allowed to return to their skiff and sail to shore after their weapons and equipment were disposed of.

[27] In November 2014, Stuart and sister ship Parramatta were deployed to shadow a Russian naval force operating in international waters off Australia during the 2014 G-20 Brisbane summit.