A team from Papua New Guinea will enter the NRL from 2028 after officially being granted a licence by the league.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his PNG counterpart James Marape met in Sydney on Thursday to shake hands over the deal, the culmination of two years worth of planning.
The pair reached an in-principle agreement with the NRL in May, and have since been ironing out specifics.
The final legal documents to ratify the team's creation are expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
The as-yet-unnamed team is seen as key diplomatic tool for Australia to strengthen ties in the hotly-contested Pacific, and will cost the Australian taxpayer $600 million over 10 years.
It will be either the NRL's 18th or 19th franchise, pending further expansion plans into Perth.
Players will be granted tax incentives to relocate to PNG, and will live in a secure compound in Port Moresby to be organised and funded by the PNG Government.
Jasper Bruce - AAP
