In October 2010,
Football Federation Australia (FFA) commenced a National Competition Review, its main objective being to review the current structure of soccer competitions in Australia, and to monitor and improve elite player development. By May 2012 the results of the National Competition Review were released. In it, a proposal to re-brand and revitalise state-based competitions in Australia. On 13 February 2013, the establishment of the NPL was announced. As a direct outcome of the National Competition Review, the league would rebrand the premier league in each state under a single banner. The competition was initially named the "Australian Premier League", but because of a violation of naming rights held by
Lawn Bowls Australia the original name was scrapped and replaced with "National Premier Leagues". The inaugural season of the NPL began in March 2013. It included teams from five of the nine state-based federations: Although Victoria initially announced their teams would enter in 2014, a deferral was later announced in November 2013, after several clubs objected to the process for selecting teams. However, by December 2013, a resolution was reached whereby Victorian teams participated in the 2014 season. The finals series for the 2020 competition was cancelled on 3 July 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, and has not been held since. FFA announced their intentions of a promotion and relegation structure between the first tier
A-League and a proposed second tier (which ultimately resulted in the formation on the
Australian Championship series), but a promotion and relegation system did not eventuate. == Competition format ==