The Wallabies have added a fresh Bledisloe Cup heartbreak to their lengthy list, throwing away a 14-point halftime lead to lose 23-20 to New Zealand in Dunedin.

Marika Koroibete and Tom Hooper scored tries in the opening six minutes as Australia dared to dream of a hoodoo-snapping result.

Instead, the same old story - told now for 29 matches and 22 years against the All Blacks in New Zealand - prevailed.

Debutants Shaun Stevenson and Samipeni Finau scored second-half tries, and with 60 seconds remaining Richie Mo'unga kicked a penalty to settle the contest.

It was a much-improved showing from the Wallabies after last weekend's 38-7 drubbing at the MCG.

However, the outcome was ultimately the same and leaves Australia with an 0-4 record under new coach Eddie Jones as they head to France, with the World Cup just five weeks away.

"Gutted. We'd put ourselves in a position to win it," Wallabies captain Tate McDermott said.

"Not happy with losing but from where we were last week to where we are now, a massive step up."

The Wallabies entered the contest fielding their seventh-least experienced team in the last three decades, and grew more callow before the first whistle.

Jordan Uelese was ruled out with a knee injury after teamsheets were listed, with Reds hooker Matt Faessler called up for his international debut.

Despite their lack of caps, the Wallabies jumped from the blocks, with Koroibete scoring a third-minute try to set the early tone.

Hooper joined him on the scoreboard three minutes later, bulldozing Damian McKenzie to give the visitors a two-try lead.

Carter Gordon, who wore plenty of criticism for his kicking in last weekend's Bledisloe Cup opener, fired over two conversions from the sideline to have the score at 14-0.

The Wallabies were in dreamland, holding out the All Blacks until the break for a 17-3 lead, their first halftime advantage against New Zealand in four years.

It would have been even bleaker for the hosts if not for Ardie Savea, who held up McDermott after the five-eighth darted over the line.

Making 12 changes from the Bledisloe Cup opener, New Zealand were uncharacteristically sloppy, giving away the ball at the scrum and line-outs, missing tackles and dropping catches.

A team befitting the famous black shirt emerged for the second half and Stevenson scored their first try in the 43rd minute, racing onto McKenzie's long, lofted pass.

With half-an-hour to go, Mo'unga, Aaron Smith and Dane Coles - 252 Tests between them - came on and the match was reset as a contest.

Leicester Fainga'anuku thought he'd scored in the 55th minute only for a TMO review to show he'd dropped the ball.

The Wallabies took their turn at blowing easy points soon after when Gordon missed a simple penalty. The All Blacks made him pay.

Playing more directly, Finau barged through under the posts and the Wallabies had lost their lead after an hour in front.

Still, there was life in the contest.

The loudest noise of the afternoon came with the introduction of Quade Cooper, and the partisan crowd booed louder still when the Auckland-born Wallaby's penalty tied the contest at 20-20 with seven minutes left.

The 28,265-strong crowd had more to say when Cooper knocked on in the 77th minute, before a scrum from which Australia gave away a penalty led to Mo'unga's decisive kick.

Jones said he had "a devastated group of men" in the changerooms.

"But we don't want to forget that feeling today," he said.

"If we learn from it, it's going to be the most potent lesson. It's going to be more than a PhD from University of Otago."