Dame Noeline Taurua went with the same starting seven who did the job in the first two tests.
It was 13-all after the first quarter and the Silver Ferns’ main feeders, who had been explosive in the first two tests, were contained better by Australia.
Wing defence Jamie-Lee Price in particular used her size advantage to make life difficult for wing attack Kimiora Poi.
The Diamonds were slicker on attack and the midcourters were able to find shooter Sophie Garbin more easily.
But the Silver Ferns still showed patience in getting the ball to shooter Grace Nweke and were able to get a 28-26 halftime lead.
Taurua showed faith in her starting seven, who stayed out there for the whole game. Her patience was rewarded as Poi worked her way back into the game in the second half and the Silver Ferns found more flow on attack.
The New Zealand defensive line started tightening up on the Diamonds, which led to the home side making a string of uncharacteristic mistakes.
Horjus got her debut by coming on at wing attack, which saw Australian captain Liz Watson benched for the second game in a row.
Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich made several changes throughout the game as she searched for answers.
New Zealand won the third quarter by a staggering 18-9.
The New Zealand defenders caused hesitation in the Australian shooting end and Cara Koenen came on for goal shooter Garbin for the final few minutes.
Kate Heffernan was named MVP after a fine showing at wing defence, where she also fired several balls into Nweke, who scored 47 goals at 94%.
It has been a remarkable turnaround from the Silver Ferns, who just three weeks ago were licking their wounds after losing the Taini Jamison trophy series 2-1 to England.
In the wake of that, the Silver Ferns dropped to third in the world netball rankings.
With a 3-0 lead, the Silver Ferns have a chance to take a clean sweep of the series for the first time since its inception in 2010, when the sides meet for the final test in Melbourne on Wednesday.
