Swimming Australia will use the trials for the impending world championships to start building crucial experience and depth ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The trials run from Tuesday to Sunday at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC), with the top two from each event to qualify for next month's world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, provided they swim inside a FINA A qualifying time.
Selectors can also make discretionary choices, and some swimmers will also qualify for relays, which Swimming Australia head coach Rohan Taylor stressed was crucial for building depth in individual events.
"We're always looking at our relays and how we can make our relays stronger, which leads to increasing depth," Taylor told reporters.
"For the most part it's just getting that race experience.
"We've got another worlds in February, we've got World Cups, we've got a lot of racing in this next six months. So for me, it's about exposure to competition.
"After worlds we'll see where our gaps are. We're looking at the World Cups to accelerate some of those competition experiences for those ones that we want to really develop in relation to those events, in those relays, and then obviously worlds in Doha (in February 2024).
"After this meet and after worlds, we'll have a bit of a clearer idea because there are some emerging athletes that I'm really looking forward to seeing."
Both Melbourne and Fukuoka will also serve as crucial dress rehearsals amid preparations for Paris.
"They're (the world championships) really important for the fact that the trials, the five weeks, the swimming fast here, and then swimming faster or maintaining the times at the the worlds, is really a skill to practice," Taylor said.
"So it's really important because you go there, you're under pressure, your travel, your team environment. So it's a really good rehearsal. We've built our experience. We don't have a lot of international racing experience.
"That will be replicated next year - the coach and the athlete working on their taper and getting all those things fine tuned.
"Any time you get to practice that is really important to put that in the bank - so it's critical for us."
Ariarne Titmus will have her first genuine shot at reclaiming the 400m freestyle world record when she headlines Tuesday night's action.
Teen sensation Summer McIntosh took the world record from Titmus by clocking 3:56.08 at Canada's world championships trials in March.
Zac Stubblety-Cook (100m breaststroke), Kaylee McKeown (200m individual medley) and Emma McKeon (100m butterfly) will also be in action.
Tuesday's men's 400m freestyle includes reigning world champion Elijah Winnington, in-form Sam Short, and veteran Mack Horton.
