The group, based at the University of Wollongong in NSW, says the muscles are small and strong enough to push the nanobots along the bloodstream.
The use of nanobots in diagnosing and treating medical conditions such as cancer has received publicity over the past few years, but working out how to move them through the body has been a hurdle until now.
The new twisting artificial muscles use very tough and highly flexible yarns of carbon nanotubes which are twist-spun.
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When an electrical charge is applied, the yarns rotate 600 times per minute and then reverse the rotation when the voltage is changed.
The chief investigator for the university's Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Geoff Spinks, is excited about the development which he says has overcome a major hurdle in the development of nanotechnology.
"This new, giant rotating type of actuation will open up lots of new opportunities for micro-machines," Professor Spinks said in a statement.
The muscles twist in a similar way to elephant trunks, octopus limbs, and even the human tongue.
Results of testing suggest that the carbon nanotubes can use the properties of a surrounding fluid to create movement and change shape without structural support.
The work has been published in the journal Science.
