The fuming Wallabies believe they were short-changed by three controversial refereeing calls that made a "massive difference" as their Bledisloe Cup misery stretched to an 11th season.
The peerless All Blacks once again proved themselves more powerful and clinical in an 27-16 triumph at jam-packed Westpac Stadium to clinch the series 2-0 on Saturday night.
Despite a highly-promising opening, Australia paid the price for poor one-on-one defence, an outgunned scrum and an inability to capitalise on a host of try-scoring chances for their second defeat in a week.
But coach Ewen McKenzie and skipper James Horwill were also left steaming after they weren't fully rewarded for a strong start.
They led 6-0 but McKenzie said it should have been more after hooker Stephen Moore was denied what appeared a fair try and All Blacks Ma'a Nonu and Kieran Read escaped yellow cards.
Moore burrowed his way to the line in the seventh minute and touch judge Lourens van der Merwe told referee Jaco Peyper to refer it to the television match official, but he instead gave Australia a penalty for a 3-0 lead.
A Nonu shoulder charge on James Slipper then went unnoticed before Read's cynical professional foul on Will Genia after Christian Lealiifano was pulled down on the line in the 24th minute had Australian blood boiling most.
After Lealiifano slotted his second penalty goal, the All Blacks then pounced with the first of winger Ben Smith's two tries to grab a 7-6 lead against the run of play and turn the momentum.
Smith's second on halftime, when the Wallabies were guilty of glaring tackling lapses, saw New Zealand gain a 15-6 advantage and Australia struggled to play catch-up from there.
McKenzie fell short of blaming the decisions for the loss but said it made for a "whole different ball game".
"If you work and build pressure you either get rewarded with points or you get rewarded with yellow cards," he said.
"We got neither.
"That makes a massive difference. If you are playing good footy and get rewarded for it, it's a whole different psyche.
"We had six points and should have had more. We let them off the hook there before halftime and they scored 15 points."
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen acknowledged Australia were far more threatening than their first Test 47-29 result but said the main difference was his side's ability to make the most of their try-scoring chances.
The Wallabies once again failed to get star winger Israel Folau into the match but he did give a late glimmer of hope with a 75m intercept try, before New Zealand iced the result with their fifth penalty goal.
It was the Wallabies' 15th straight loss to NZ across the Tasman dating back to 2001 and means the third Test in Dunedin in two months will be a series dead rubber.
The All Blacks' series victory celebrations were given extra fizz with grizzled prop Tony Woodcock playing in his 100th Test and making it a tough night for Ben Alexander who was also guilty of costly errors around the ground.
Australia played far more direct and kicked more but also struggled in defence in the midfield and also gave away two tight-heads at scrum times as well as a series of penalties.
