Upon their return, a period of leave followed after which the battalion was re-constituted on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland in April 1943. The battalion was subsequently retrained, re-equipped and reorganised to prepare it for the rigours of jungle warfare and throughout this time several drafts of reinforcements were received. These were mainly drawn from the states of South Australia and Western Australia, which changed the demographics of the battalion's personnel. Some personnel were also drawn from Europeans who had been living in New Guinea. Finally, the battalion received orders to deploy to the territory of Papua, and in August 1943 the 2/2nd arrived at Milne Bay, which had been developed into a large Allied base after the fighting there the previous year. After a month of garrison duties and work parties, the battalion was committed to the final actions of the Salamaua–Lae campaign. In early September 1943, it took part in the landing at Lae, as the 9th and 7th Divisions rushed to secure the town. During the 9th's landing east of the town, the battalion suffered 29 casualties in a single Japanese air attack, but overall the battalion's involvement in the advance resulted in only limited casualties as its personnel were mainly used to unload stores and equipment, as well providing local defence.