The Australian and Papua New Guinea (PNG) Governments are partnering with the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) to deepen our connections through rugby league.
Australia will support a PNG team to enter the National Rugby League (NRL) competition no later than 2028.
As PNG prepares to mark its 50th anniversary of independence in 2025, this partnership celebrates our countries’ shared history and future, reflects our strategic trust and opens new people-to-people and economic opportunities.
The establishment of a PNG team in the NRL is an important symbol of our contemporary partnership.
It will deliver significant economic benefits to both countries through investment in new infrastructure and by boosting PNG and Australia’s sports and tourism sectors.
The Australian Government will also partner with the ARLC on a Pacific Rugby League Partnership for girls and boys, and women and men to play rugby league from the grassroots to the elite level across PNG, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
This Partnership will use rugby league to help increase school retention, promote positive health and nutrition, build gender equality and foster youth leadership.
It will invest in girls’ and women’s rugby league across the region, cultivating pathways and new opportunities, and work toward including a PNG Women’s team in one of Australia’s premier state competitions.
This will build on Australia’s existing investments in sports development across the Pacific – which include programs for netball, rugby union, Aussie rules and cricket – and complement Australia’s broader development partnerships in the region.
Australia and PNG are vital to each other’s future. Australia is proud to be PNG’s primary security and development partner.
This new partnership will be underpinned by shared strategic trust and strong people-to-people links and reflects our commitment to delivering peace, prosperity and opportunity for our people and our region.
Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese:
“A Papua New Guinea NRL team is a game-changer for Australia’s relationship with PNG and a unifying force – no two countries have a greater passion for rugby league.
“Australia’s relationship with the Pacific is profoundly important and our sporting ties are unique.
“Partnering on rugby league is a genuine and powerful way of building lasting ties between our peoples, and ensuring long-term development, social and economic outcomes for PNG and the Pacific.
“Our partnership will create new opportunities for girls’ and women’s rugby league across PNG and the Pacific, recognising the power of sports programs in championing inclusion and improving gender equality.”
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape:
“This one team will be for one people, one country, one nation, a national unifier.
“We deeply appreciate our relationship with Australia. While government-to-government ties are important, at the heart and soul of this relationship must be people-to-people connections. Sport has the unique power to unite our two peoples, who share an ancient history and even the same DNA, as seen in the bond between Papua New Guineans and Torres Strait Islanders.
“An NRL team for PNG is more than just sports – it is a national unification strategy. With our diverse cultures and people, rugby league can bring us together as one nation. At the same time, it strengthens the shared history and people-to-people links between PNG and Australia.
“For us, this partnership is not only about rugby league but also about anchoring the deep connection between our two countries. Sport is a powerful tool to solidify and celebrate this relationship, creating a bridge that connects our communities on a personal and cultural level.
“As we look to our 50th anniversary of independence, we envision a future where a PNG NRL team represents not just sporting excellence but the enduring partnership and shared destiny between PNG and Australia. This is more than a game – it is a symbol of unity and mutual respect.”