The battle of the weekend will see Marc Marquez look to hold onto his 11 point lead in the riders’ standings.
Andrea Dovizioso won the Japanese Grand Prix last time out by passing his title rival on the last lap.
But the Italian was way off the pace in Australia as he finished 11th on the grid.
Local hero Jack Miller put in an impressive lap to claim fifth while Valentino Rossi was able to claim seventh on the grid for Sunday’s race.
Cal Crutchlow, who won the Australian Grand Prix last year, crashed out with little over four minutes to go in the second qualifying session and finished 10th.
Q2 results
1 Marquez; 2 Vinales; 3 Zarco; 4 Iannone; 5 Miller; 6 P. Espargaro; 7 Rossi; 8 A. Espargaro; 9 Smith; 10 Crutchlow; 11 Dovizioso; 12 Pedrosa.