International rallying returned to Australia in 1988 when Garry Connelly gained the support of the WA government to support Rally Australia based out of Perth. That year it was a round of the Australian Pacific Rally Championship and a candidate event for the WRC. It was then a round of the WRC for every subsequent edition except 1994. It was also regularly a round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship.

Rally Australia in Perth became an iconic event within the WRC, with sponsors including the Commonwealth Bank, Telecom/Telstra and API. The famous Bunnings jumps became synonymous with the event, which also provided a unique challenge for drivers on the ball-bearing like gravel roads to the south and east of Perth.

The withdrawal of support from the WA government caused the annual event to cease after the 2006 edition. Garry Connelly was again instrumental in bringing the event back to life on the east coast in 2009 and in negotiating a contract with the WRC promoters to conduct the event biannually. The 2009 edition faced resistance from the local community in the Northern Rivers region and the subsequent editions moved to the Coffs Harbour region. The event ran annually from 2013 but disaster struck in 2019 when massive wildfires forced the last minute cancellation of the event. Sadly, to date the event has not been able to be rivived.