'We will never forget': PM thanks Papua New Guineans on Anzac Day

Mr Albanese is continuing his walk on the Kokoda Track with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, pausing to commemorate fallen service men and women at the Isurava Memorial Site.

"To the people of PNG, I offer Australia's promise: We will never forget," the Prime Minister is expected to say.

"For the Papua New Guineans, this was not a theatre, a backdrop or a battlefield. It was home.

"And ultimately, that was what Australians were fighting for, too."

In World War II, 625 Australians were killed on the Kokoda Track. Of those, 99 died in the Battle of Isurava and 111 were wounded.

"Every Anzac Day, across Australia and in battlefields like this one, we honour all who have served, and all who continue to serve today," Mr Albanese will say.

"It is a collective act of remembrance, reflection and gratitude carried out by multiple generations of Australians."

Mr Albanese will highlight the people of Papua New Guinea who helped Australians during the war, from soldiers to civilians.

"The villagers who risked their own lives to feed and guide and shelter Australians in desperate need. The stretcher bearers whose courage was matched only by their kindness.

"And the carers like Nurse Maiogaru Gimuleia Taulebona who put herself in danger by hiding wounded Leading Aircraftman John Francis Donegan from the Japanese.

"They were angels walking tall through the hell of war."

Opposition leader Peter Dutton drew attention to the Australian national identity that was forged in World War I in his Anzac Day message.

"Just as the Anzac spirit shaped our national soul, our national soul sustained the Anzac spirit," Mr Dutton said.

"And since the First World War, it is a spirit which has characterised Australians whenever and wherever they have served and sacrificed."