The Army and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) were unable to reach agreement on the ship's specifications and the project was cancelled in the early 1970s.
In the late 1960s, the Australian Army saw a need to replace its four World War II-era Landing Ship Medium (LSM) which had been purchased from the United States in 1959.
[2] In response to this requirement, the firm Burness, Corlett and Partners, along with the Australian Shipbuilding Board, drew up plans for a larger ship that could carry more cargo, with three engines and a long, slim hull.
[1] The Army and RAN disagreed on aspects of the Landing Ship Medium Mark II's design.
Unlike other contemporary designs, it was planned that the ship would not carry smaller landing craft, but rather discharge her cargo via a ramp fitted to her bow.