Most of the ship's wartime service was spent in New Guinea waters; with primary duties including patrol, convoy escort, troop transport, along with the shelling of Japanese positions. In April 1945, "Barcoo" was attached to the Borneo campaign. She was the command ship for a landing craft division at the Tarakan landings in May, and directly supported the North Borneo landings in June, before being assigned to general escort and fire support roles.