The resurfaced, re-profiled Albert Park circuit proved quite a challenge for the Supercars field, with the likes of Tickford pair Thomas Randle and James Courtney having moments early in the session.
However it was Triple Eight rookie Broc Feeney that got caught out to the greatest extent when he slid the #88 Holden into the wall at Turn 5.
He was able to limp the broken car back to the pits, however repairs to the barrier meant a significant portion of the session was lost to a red flag.
At the point of the red flag it was the Dick Johnson Racing pair of Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale that were leading the way.
There was a small re-shuffle once the session finally got going again, with De Pasquale grabbing top spot with a 1m46.601s at the flag.
That was more than seven seconds faster than the lap record set on the old Albert Park layout by Scot McLaughlin in 2019.
"It's cool, really fun," said De Pasquale of the new layout.
"There's a lot of cool changes from a driver's point of view when you're trying to get a lap time. You're on the edge, so it's really cool. We'll see how the racing is."
Points leader Shane van Gisbergen managed to split the DJR Mustangs on his final run, with Davison shuffled back to third.
David Reynolds was fourth fastest followed by Brad Jones Racing pair Macauley Jones and Andre Heimgartner.
Lee Holdsworth was seventh ahead of Tim Slade, Garry Jacobson and Bryce Fullwood.
