In northwestern Australia there were widespread volcanic eruptions, with a massive outpouring of basaltic lavas covering as much as 500 km2. On the continent's eastern margin, now part of the Tasman Fold Belt System, there may have been some arc volcanism. In central Australia, which by then was part of a major craton, there were extensive shallow seas extending south to the Adelaide region. Around the margins of these basins carbonate and detrital sediments were laid down, with some reef-like structures in the more open waters. More restricted circulation under arid conditions produced evaporite deposits in some areas. In the Officer Basin, saline lakes containing unusual evaporite minerals appeared under conditions similar to those found tody in the East African Rift Valley.

Our knowledge of depositional conditions in the area of the Tasman Fold Belt System at the time is sketchy because the rocks making up the System today are largely younger than Cambrian. Deep-marine conditions probably predominated, with extensive shelves on the margins of the Precambrian craton in areas such as the Warburton Basin. There was widespread volcanism in the Mount Read area of western Tasmania; the volcanics of this area host Tasmania's major base-metal deposits.