Having already retained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, Australia are determined to complete a 2-0 series win after Friday's second match was washed out.
Wet weather continued to hover on Saturday, with the start of play delayed by 15 minutes, and the teams forced from the field briefly after just two overs of New Zealand's innings.
But star quick Josh Hazlewood (2-26) was able to make it an immediate impact, removing out-of-form Black Caps opener Devon Conway (0) and No.3 Tim Robinson (13).
Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert played an important knock, but was dismissed by Xavier Bartlett (2-25) for 48 off 35 balls.
Sean Abbott wreaked havoc on the lower order, finishing with figures of 3-25.
Big-hitting Tim David pulled off a stunning catch to help dismiss Mark Chapman (4) to give Abbott his first wicket.
Kiwi captain Michael Bracewell (26) and allrounder James Neesham (25) were able to do some damage late in the innings, smashing 17 from one Marcus Stoinis over.
But Neesham fell to Bartlett before he was able to truly lift New Zealand's score up towards a difficult total for the tourists.
Both teams went in unchanged after just 13 balls were bowled in game two.
5°C