The Prime Minister's XIII first played against Papua New Guinea in 2005 at
Lloyd Robson Oval in the Papua New Guinean capital,
Port Moresby. The team was coached in that match by former
Queensland State of Origin coach
Mal Meninga, who coached the side until 2012.
New South Wales State of Origin coach
Laurie Daley then took over from 2013 to 2014 with
Ivan Cleary coaching the team in 2015. Meninga, appointed Australian test coach in 2016 also re-took the reins that year. Originally played in Port Moresby, in recent years the games have been held in various locations around Papua New Guinea, including Lae and Kokopo. Unlike regular international matches, each team is allowed a five-man bench and given unlimited interchanges throughout the match. Because the selected Australian players are not participating in the NRL finals (and are part of the Australian Test 'train-on' squad), the match is primarily used to keep potential international players match fit ahead of any end-of-season international fixtures. As the match has been played later in September, players who play for a team that has been knocked out in the first two weeks of the finals have been able to be selected for the side. The match is also used to promote rugby league, as well as humanitarian causes such as HIV and AIDS awareness, among the Papua New Guinean community. The PM's XIII has never lost a match against Papua New Guinea since the annual fixture commenced, but was held to a 24–24 draw in 2007, after leading 20–0 at half time. In 2019, the PM's XIII played against the
Fiji Prime Minister's XIII for the first time, at the
ANZ National Stadium in
Suva. In 2022, after a two-year absence due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the fixture returned with the PM'x XIII playing the
PNG PM's XIII at
Suncorp Stadium, the first game to be held in
Australia. == Current squad ==