During a multinational exercise in September 2003, which was attended by Rankin and sister boat Waller, Rankin successfully "sank" a Singaporean anti-submarine warfare vessel.

In 2004, a film crew was embarked aboard Rankin for the creation of Submariners, a six-part documentary aired by SBS in 2005 and depicting life aboard a submarine.
The film crew was on board from February to April 2004, during which the boat completed pre-deployment trials, participated in the submarine rescue exercise Pacific Reach, and made a diplomatic visit to Kure, Japan.
They later rejoined Rankin during the submarine's deployment to Hawaii for RIMPAC 04 in June and July.
Later that year, Rankin was also the subject of the book Beneath Southern Seas.
The coffee table book, which encompasses the history of the Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service, was primarily based on photographs and interviews of Rankin and those aboard taken by the authors during a twelve-day voyage from Sydney to Fremantle, concluding the six-month deployment started during the filming of Submariners.
The 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km; 23,000 mi) voyage—the longest undertaken by a Collins-class submarine to that date—began with workups in February, and saw the submarine visit Korea, Japan, and Hawaii, and participate in various multinational exercises before returning to Fremantle via Sydney.
Rankin was at sea for 126 days, 80% of which was spent underwater.

On 10 June 2005, Rankin was presented with the Gloucester Cup.
Presented to the RAN vessel with the greatest overall efficiency over the previous twelve months, Rankin was the first Collins-class submarine to earn the Cup, and the first submarine to receive it since Orion in 1987.
The award was again presented to Rankin in 2008.

Rankin was docked for a long maintenance period in 2008, but workforce shortages and malfunctions on other submarines requiring urgent attention have drawn this out: in 2010 RAN and ASC officials predicted that she would not be back in service until 2013.
At the end of the works on Rankin, personnel were transferred from HMAS Farncomb (which was commencing a similar period of maintenance and upgrades), and Rankin arrived at Fleet Base West on 1 October 2014.
During a multinational exercise in September 2003, which was attended by Rankin and sister boat Waller, Rankin successfully "sank" a Singaporean anti-submarine warfare vessel.
In 2004, a film crew was embarked aboard Rankin for the creation of Submariners, a six-part documentary aired by SBS in 2005 and depicting life aboard a submarine. The film crew was on board from February to April 2004, during which the boat completed pre-deployment trials, participated in the submarine rescue exercise Pacific Reach, and made a diplomatic visit to Kure, Japan. They later rejoined Rankin during the submarine's deployment to Hawaii for RIMPAC 04 in June and July. Later that year, Rankin was also the subject of the book Beneath Southern Seas. The coffee table book, which encompasses the history of the Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service, was primarily based on photographs and interviews of Rankin and those aboard taken by the authors during a twelve-day voyage from Sydney to Fremantle, concluding the six-month deployment started during the filming of Submariners. The 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km; 23,000 mi) voyage—the longest undertaken by a Collins-class submarine to that date—began with workups in February, and saw the submarine visit Korea, Japan, and Hawaii, and participate in various multinational exercises before returning to Fremantle via Sydney. Rankin was at sea for 126 days, 80% of which was spent underwater.
On 10 June 2005, Rankin was presented with the Gloucester Cup. Presented to the RAN vessel with the greatest overall efficiency over the previous twelve months, Rankin was the first Collins-class submarine to earn the Cup, and the first submarine to receive it since Orion in 1987. The award was again presented to Rankin in 2008.
Rankin was docked for a long maintenance period in 2008, but workforce shortages and malfunctions on other submarines requiring urgent attention have drawn this out: in 2010 RAN and ASC officials predicted that she would not be back in service until 2013. At the end of the works on Rankin, personnel were transferred from HMAS Farncomb (which was commencing a similar period of maintenance and upgrades), and Rankin arrived at Fleet Base West on 1 October 2014.
HMAS Rankin (SSG 78)