The Kangaroos exacted revenge for the defeat they suffered in the final of the 2014 edition of the competition, running in five tries to put their rivals to the sword in front of a 40,042-strong crowd.
Australia took just two minutes to get on the scoresheet, capitalising on a promising scrum position earned through a Jordan Rapana error to quickly funnel the ball out to the right where Blake Ferguson was on hand to score.
Jonathan Thurston subsequently produced an impressive conversion - the first of his five goals, including two penalties - as the Aussies laid down an early marker.