Australia conceded a try deep into extra time as New Zealand won 17-12 to finish fifth at the world rugby sevens tournament in Las Vegas.
Sione Molia received the ball behind his own posts and ran more than 100m to bag a spectacular match-winning try, producing two jinks to elude Australian sweeper James Stannard.
The Aussies overcame Kenya 26-21 in the earlier match where they relied upon a try from Stannard, his second of the match, three minutes into extra time to seal victory against the Kenyans.
John Porch and Lachie Anderson were the other try scorers in their classification match, while the Kiwis pipped England 19-14.
In the quarter-finals Australia lost 29-17 to South Africa while Fiji beat New Zealand 14-10.
The Cup final will pit Argentina against the US following two semi-final upsets.
The Pumas pipped series leaders South Africa 12-10 while the Eagles used their pace to see off Olympic champions Fiji 19-7.
