In accordance with normal repatriation procedures, Wilder-Neligan's commission in the AIF was terminated following his return to Australia in October 1919. He was involved in the formation of a soldiers' political party in Queensland, travelling the country and delivering speeches from the back of a truck. On 1 January 1920 he was appointed as a lieutenant colonel in the part-time army, the Citizens' Forces. In late March the following year he transferred to the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, which was then occupying German New Guinea. This appointment was at the rank of lieutenant. He did not immediately travel to New Guinea, living on the north coast of Queensland for two months, and visiting Brisbane in early May to receive his French Croix de guerre from the former AIF commander Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood during the latter's first visit to Australia. Wilder-Neligan travelled to New Guinea later that year to take up his appointment.