The All Blacks have not lost to the Wallabies in Auckland since 1986 and have momentum to take into next week's Rugby Championship encounter at the same venue again.

Australia was in this contest throughout but allowed the scoreline to get away from them as Richie Mo'unga, David Havili and Damian McKenzie crossed in a 14-minute period.

That left a mountain to climb, with a double from Tom Banks and Jordan Uelese's try not enough, largely because of a poor kicking game from Noah Lolesio in tricky winds.

Those gusts played in Mo'unga's favour as he dispatched two early penalties and then stretched the All Blacks' lead to nine after Lolesio's kick faded right, one of several wayward Wallabies efforts.

Lolesio did get on the board with his next attempt before Andrew Kellaway burst through for the first try, but New Zealand finished the half firmly on top and Sevu Reece forced the ball over heading into the break.

Reece thought he had a second soon after the restart, finishing off one of the great Test moves from his team's own try line only for the score to be pulled back for a forward pass from Aaron Smith.

However, another sensational break brought the All Blacks joy as Mo'unga intercepted inside his own half and raced through, with the hosts really hitting their stride as Havili and McKenzie each touched down in the corner.

Australia finally got the response its pressure merited through Banks on the left and he toed the ball away to score again after Lolesio's incisive kick.

But repeated misses from the tee meant Uelese's try in the final seconds counted for little.