New Zealand fought back in the only way possible, aided by an atrocious decision which resulted in Ricky Ponting's dismissal, to attempt to take the fifth Chappell-Hadlee Trophy match in Wellington on Saturday.
New Zealand scored 9-241 and after 25 overs Australia was struggling at 4-93 with Shane Watson having posted an unbeaten 50 and Mike Hussey on 13 not out.
New Zealand needed a positive effort in the field because its batting was a major disappointment with top-order failures again marring its effort in the latter stages of the series.
Ponting came to the wicket at the fall of Brad Haddin's wicket for 17 when he was caught off Shane Bond's bowling.
Bond dished up a bouncer to Ponting, to which he played an attempted hook shot, but the ball glanced off his helmet and was taken by wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins. The New Zealand team made a unanimous appeal and after a lengthy delay umpire Gary Baxter gave the Australian skipper out.
He courted an appearance in front of the ICC's head match referee Ranjan Madugalle with his expression of understandable incredulity at the decision.
Almost as equally unfortunate was Adam Voges who was given out by Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf caught behind for five runs from Southee's bowling. Television replays showed there had been no contact between bat and ball.
Shane Watson stood firm to unleash some powerful backfoot shots but he lost Cameron White who miscued a shot from Tim Southee and was caught at wide mid-on by Daniel Vettori.
Again it was largely thanks to a lower-order show of resistance with Daryl Tuffey again in the picture, scoring 36 off 41 balls, that New Zealand achieved the total it did.
Going into the game it was the side's top-order which was carrying the burden of expectation with all the correct noises being made about batting sensibly and responsibly. Sadly it all proved to be words alone.
Actions did not measure up in what was a poor representation of a side purported to be ranked No.4 among the world's one-day-playing cricket nations.
It was the manner of the soft dismissals, especially of the top-order players, that left the side suffering a crisis of awareness days out from the start of the two-Test series which starts down the road at the Basin Reserve next week.
Brendon McCullum (one) spooned a catch to mid-off, Martin Guptill (7) ran himself out, Shanan Stewart (6) edged a simple chance behind, Ross Taylor (30) couldn't stop himself playing an attempted hook shot at a ball too wide of off-stump and Scott Styris undid all the hard work he did in reaching 55 when playing a ball onto his stumps.
Add in Daniel Vettori (28) moving outside leg, only to fail to connect with a ball from Doug Bollinger, and Gareth Hopkins (26) chasing a wide ball only to be caught at the wicket, and it is a sorry-looking excuse for entertainment from a side which started the series in such ebullient form.
Australia has had too much direction, experience, class and skill both with bat and ball for the New Zealanders who now face the task of lifting themselves for the Test series.
Mitchell Johnson, for all the opprobrium heaped on him by unimaginative chanters in New Zealand's crowd, showed his true class by taking 2-42 from his 10 overs to answer his detractors in the perfect manner to finish the best of Australia's bowlers in the series with 12 wickets at an average of 18.33 and an economy rate of 4.73.
Shane Watson also continued his happy knack of picking up wickets at the right time and had 1-31 from eight overs and eight wickets at 21.37 in the series.
Only Doug Bollinger struggled to make an impact throughout the series with four wickets for 231 at an average of 57.75 and an economy rate of 5.87. But in a demonstration of Australia's worth over the series, he was still significantly better than James Franklin, Tim Southee and Daryl Tuffey as they prepared for the final innings of the series.