Major-General George Vasey, the Australian Deputy Chief of General Staff, and Lieutenant-General George Brett, the US commander of Allied air forces, visited Port Moresby from 21 to 24 April 1942. On 23 April, after discussions with Major-General Morris, it was decided to form Kanga Force. It would be responsible for military operations in the Wau area, including Salamaua and Lae. General Douglas MacArthur, the Commander-in-Chief of Allied forces in the South-West Pacific, had already requested that Lieutenant-General Brett supply aircraft to transport and maintain the force. It was hoped that this force would be able to raid, and perhaps occupy, Salamaua and Lae, in line with MacArthur's aims. If the threat of invasion to Port Moresby was removed, the newly formed 2/5th Independent Company would be sent to Wau by air to provide the main operational component of the new force, which would also include the NGVR and 1st Independent Company men currently in place.

Four independent companies had originally been formed by the Australian army at the beginning of the Second World War. After commencing training in February 1941, the first three of those four companies were ready by October 1941, when it was decided that those three would be sufficient for the foreseeable future. The outbreak of war in the Pacific caused a hasty rethink and a decision was made to expand the program to form eight such companies.