The withdrawal of the Mitsubishi factory team was not only a serious blow for the event, but it would mean the absence of six time winner, Andrew Cowan. Surely now a Datsun victory was assured, and the factory team fielded five 710s for Makinen, Aaltonen, Kallstrom and local hero Fury, with Mehta in the smaller 210, plus two more 710s under the Gerry Ball banner for Dunkerton and Watson. With the Nissan team now under the control of the astute Howard Marsden, no room was left for error. An elaborate service plan was dvised with numerous E20 vans, Marsden roving in a 240K and Bill Evans dispatched to the top of the most convenient mountain to hoist a 40 foot mast to provide radio communications. The plan ran like clockwork
The most significant challenge to the Datsuns was expected to come from the two Escorts for Carr and Bond, the former with a new RS1800 BDA model and the latter with an RS2000. A similar car was entered for Robson from New Zealand. The ford team had a somewhat less grandiose service plan with a fleet of Falcon wagons and some Escorts for roving.
The only other significant international driver was Blomqvist in a Saab, supported by local Dean Rainsford in a similar car. There was the usual large contingent from Japan, headed by the ever competitive Shinozuka and the fiery Iwashita. The MHDT returned in a Gemini for Bell. Entries were also received from Indonesia, Turkey and PNG. There were many fancied local privateers also, including the Gosford Dyno Tune team with Lancers for Ian Hill and for Ross Jackson.
| No. | Entrant | Driver | Country/ State | Co-driver | Country/ State | Car |
| 1 | Nissan Motor Australia | Timo Makinen | Finland | Henry Liddon | England | Datsun 710 |
| 2 | Team Saab | Stig Blomqvist | Sweden | Hans Sylvan | Sweden | Saab 99 EMS |
| 3 | Nissan Motor Australia | Rauno Aaltonen | Finland | Jeff Beaumont | Tas | Datsun 710 |
| 4 | Nissan Motor Australia | Harry Kallstrom | Sweden | Claes Billstam | Sweden | Datsun 710 |
| 5 | Nissan Motor Australia | Shekah Mehta | Kenya | Adrian Mortimer | SA | Datsun PB210 |
| 6 | Nissan Motor Australia | George Fury | Vic | Monty Suffern | Vic | Datsun 710 |
| 7 | Gerry Ball Tuning Service | Ross Dunkerton | WA | Graeme Pigram | ACT | Datsun 710 |
| 8 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Greg Carr | ACT | Wayne Gregson | ACT | Ford Escort RS 1800 |
| 9 | Colt Motor Sports Club | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Japan | Garry Connely | Qld | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 10 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Colin Bond | NSW | John Dawson-Damer | NSW | Ford Escort RS 1800 |
| 11 | R. Riley | Bob Riley | NSW | Brian Hope | NSW | Mitsubishi Galant |
| 12 | Gerry Ball Tuning Service | Bob Watson | Vic | Peter Godden | NSW | Datsun 710 |
| 13 | Masport NZ Limited | Blair Robson | NZ | Chris Porter | NZ | Ford Escort RS 1800 |
| 14 | Y. Iwashita | Yoshio Iwashita | Japan | Yoshimasa Nakuhara | Japan | Datsun 210 |
| 15 | Team Saab | Dean Rainsford | SA | Graham West | SA | Saab 99EMS |
| 16 | A.J. Brough | Alan Brough | NZ | Mike Galvin | NZ | Toyota Trueno |
| 17 | P. Sutowa | Aswin Nasution | Indonesia | Pontjo Sutowa | Indonesia | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 18 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Wayne Bell | NSW | George Shepheard | NSW | PF50 Gemini |
| 19 | D. Indra | Hanny Wiano | Indinesia | Dolly Indra | Indonesia | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 20 | Volvo Australia Pty. Ltd. | Harry Jensen | Denmark | David Johnson | NSW | Volvo 244 GL |
| 21 | A. Arouba | Askenda Arouba | Turkey | Renault 12 TS | ||
| 22 | J.P. Pallandre | Darryl Rowney | NSW | Jean-Paul Pallandre | PNG | Datsun 180B SSS |
| 23 | Gosford Dyno-Tune Centre | Ian Hill | NSW | Graham Roser | NSW | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 24 | A. Crawford | Peter Janson | Vic | Warwick Smith | Vic | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 25 | S. Wahyudi | Sri Wahyudi | Indonesia | Indonesia | Mitsubishi Lancer | |
| 26 | Rallyequip | Frank Neale | NSW | Brian McGuirk | NSW | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 27 | Gosford Dyno-Tune Service | Ross Jackson | NSW | Peter Berriman | NSW | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 28 | Rallyequip | Shigeru Kanno | Japan | Kiyoshi Kawamura | Japan | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 29 | Datspares | Roger Bonhomme | Vic | Paul Paterson | Vic | Datsun 1600 |
| 30 | K. Kantarci | Stewart McLeod | SA | Renault 12 TS | ||
| 31 | Rallyequip | Mitsuo Ayabe | Japan | Shigeru Imai | Japan | Toyota Sprinter |
| 33 | B. Hilton | Brian Hilton | NSW | Barry Lake | NSW | Peugeot 504 |
| 34 | B. Clarke | Brian Clarke | NSW | Bruce Ryan | NSW | Mitsubishi Galant GB |
| 35 | Apex Batteries Pty. Ltd. | Gary Meehan | NSW | Martin Fell | NSW | Toyota Corolla Coupe |
| 36 | Rallyequip | Yoshihiro Nakamura | Japan | Masahiro Yoshitake | Japan | Datsun 1600 |
| 37 | A.T. Lawson | Allan Lawson | Qld | Paul Cadell | Qld | Mazda RX3 |
| 38 | R. Holden | Bob Holden | NSW | Peugeot 504 | ||
| 39 | Stones Corner Motors | Hank Kabel | Qld | Simon Kabel | Qld | Mazda |
| 40 | H. Yoshimoto | Hisao Kunimasa | Japan | Mikihiko Kawai | Japan | Subaru |
| 41 | Maxim Motors | Jim Reddiex | Qld | Citroen | ||
| 42 | Kloster Ford Pty. Ltd. | Jim Sullivan | NSW | Robert Wilson | NSW | Ford Escort RS 2000 |
| 43 | Rallyequip | Shinya Yamauchi | Japan | Fukui Toshiaki | Japan | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 44 | R. Johnson | Bob Johnson | NSW | Steve Halloran | NSW | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 45 | Rallyequip | Hasashi Shimura | Japan | Kazuo Takahashi | Japan | Honda |
| 47 | Rallyequip | Seiji Ishizeki | Japan | Mamoru Namiki | Japan | Toyota |
| 48 | G. Mecak | Gary Mecak | NSW | Chris Edwards (Peter Brown?) | NSW | Mazda |
| 49 | Rallyequip | Kenji Sato | Japan | Yasunobu Ninomiya | Japan | Toyota Corolla Coupe |
| 50 | C.S. McKenzie | Stewart McKenzie | NZ | Patrick Grant | NZ | Datsun 1200 GX |
| 51 | Rallyequip | Toshihiso Akimoto | Japan | Tan Masapuni | Japan | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 52 | P.R. Bramble | Paul Bramble | NSW | Chris Wheatlet | NSW | Mitsubishi Galant |
| 53 | Subaru Qld Dealer Group | Tony Jewels | Qld | David Kortland | Qld | Subaru |
| 54 | Cascade Motors | Gordon Leven | NSW | Phil Bonsar | NSW | Datsun 180B SSS |
| 56 | Rallyequip | Michio Nakamoto | Japan | Katsuhisa Torita | Japan | Datsun 210 |
| 57 | B. Nightingale | Brian Nightingale | NSW | Ian Lincoln | NSW | Datsun 1600 |
| 59 | P.R. Nelson | Peter Nelson | NSW | Gregory Nelson | NSW | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 60 | H. Satoh | Hideya Satoh | Japan | Barry Jarman | NSW | PF50 Gemini |
| 61 | T. Emori | Tadayuki Emori | Japan | Takeo Hosoya | Japan | Toyota Sprinter |
| 62 | B.W. Cleverly | Brian Cleverly | NSW | Brian Lidbury | NSW | Triumph Dolomite Sprint |
| 63 | J. Kato | Junichiro Kato | Japan | K. Smith | ? | Subaru |
| 64 | New England Sporting Car Club | Graeme Taylor | NSW | Kevin Pearson | NSW | Ford Escort 1600 |
| 65 | E. Bessho | Eiji Bessho | Japan | Shiro Kawabe | Japan | PF50 Gemini |
| 66 | J.H. Stanton | John Stanton | NSW | Ross Hearne | NSW | Datsun 180B SSS |
| 67 | K. Ujima | Kuniharu Ujima | Japan | Soichiro Uchimura | Japan | Honda |
| 68 | Australian Sporting Car Club | Brian McIlvenna | NSW | Barbara Ashworth | NSW | Ford Capri |
| 69 | M. Yoneda | Minoru Yoneda | Japan | Yoichiro Yamazaki | Japan | PF50 Gemini |
| 70 | R. Rotondo | Ruggero Rotondo | NSW | Enrico Zanarini | NSW | Alfasud TI |
| 71 | H. Yoshimoto | Hiroshi Yoshimoto | Japan | Noriyuki Yasuumi | Japan | Subaru |
| 72 | H. Tholstrup | Hans Tholstrup | NSW | Don Gibb | Vic | Saab |
| 73 | T. Tasunoda | Toru Tasunoda | Japan | Yasuo Aoyama | Japan | Datsun 1600 |
| 74 | D. Lloyd | Dennis Lloyd | NSW | Chris Brown | NSW | Datsun 1600 |
| 75 | K. Sugimoto | Kazuaki Sugimoto | Japan | Takeo Takegishi | Japan | Honda |
| 76 | S. Taylor | Stephen Taylor | NSW | Gregory Pepper | NSW | Mitsubishi Galant |
| 77 | I.R. Fowler | Rex Fowler | NSW | Patrick Roberts | NSW | Datsun 1600 |
| 78 | C. Wallace | Carolynn Wallace | NSW | Anna Smith | NSW | Toyota Corolla |
| 79 | G.J. Berne | George Berne | NSW | David Peiti | NSW | Datsun 1600 |
Numbers 46, 55 and 58 were reserved by the ASCC.
