By April 1942, with convoy escorts desperately needed, five of the Australian-built corvettes including "Bendigo" were assigned to the ANZAC Area covering the eastern approaches to Australia, a zone that was shortly later reorganized into the new Southwest Pacific Area. Operations during this period included convoy duty during the Japanese submarine attacks on Australia's east coast. By September 1942, in the buildup at Port Moresby and Milne Bay in New Guinea escorting convoys and providing antisubmarine patrol. During Operation Lilliput, small convoys from Milne Bay to Oro Bay supporting the campaign at Buna-Gona, she was providing escort for the Dutch ship on 8 March 1943 when that ship came under air attack and was sunk with "Bendigo" rescuing the survivors. In Operation Accountant, a simultaneous effort with Lilliput to move the United States 162nd Infantry Regiment from Australia to the New Guinea front, the ship was one of four corvettes involved in the New Guinea convoy segment. "Bendigo" and HMAS "Moresby" were escorting convoy OC-86 from Melbourne to Newcastle during 11 April 1943 attack in which the cargo ship "Recina" was sunk that signalled resumption of submarine activity after a lull.