Australia stated that it wished for its troops (6th, 7th and 9th Divisions) to be brought home. This was mostly done in the few months after the Japanese entry into the war. However, the Australian government agreed to allow the 9th Division of Tobruk fame to stay until near the end of 1942.

There was a lot of controversy over the movement of the 7th Division back to Australia. Churchill requested that the division, while en route back to Australia, be sent to Burma. The new Australian Prime Minister John Curtin refused. However, Churchill, anticipating that Australia would just agree, had diverted the transports. When the Australian government found out they made it clear in no uncertain terms that the troops were to be returned to Australia. The Australian historian Peter Brune believes that it quite possibly would have been a slaughter if they'd been diverted to Burma as the troop ships were travelling separately from their ships carrying the division's weapons. It's also seen as a watershed moment in Australia's political history with the United Kingdom.