The squad was announced at the Darebin International Sports Centre, the venue for bowls competition at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Australia achieved their most successful lawn bowls performance at the Games in Melbourne, where they topped the sport’s medals table with three gold, one silver and a bronze.

Commonwealth Games Australia hope they could either replicate or improve on the performance from their last home Games.

The squad includes Barrie Lester and Nathan Rice, who won men’s pairs bronze at Melbourne 2006.

Lester missed out on the last two Commonwealth Games, but has been selected having become the country’s number one bowler.

Brett Wilkie, Rice and Aron Sherriff, four-time Bowls Australia International Bowler of the Year, have also been included in the men’s team.

They will join Aaron Wilson, the reigning world champion in the open category.

Reigning world singles champion Karen Murphy has been selected for her fifth Games, which equals the record of Rex Johnston for a bowler.

Murphy won gold a Melbourne 2006 in the women’s pairs, having also secured silver medals a Kuala Lumpur 1998 in fours, Manchester 2002 in singles and Glasgow 2014 in triples.

She is joined by Rebecca Van Asch, who was recently crowned Tasmanian Athlete of the Year.

Three-time reigning world champion Natasha Scott, Kelsey Cottrell and Australia's number one female bowler, Carla Krizanic, have also been selected.

Wilson and Van Asch are set to make the Games debuts in Gold Coast, along with Para-bowls players Josh Thornton, Ken Hanson, Jake Fehlberg and Lynne Seymour.

The latter two will be joined by their directors Grant Fehlberg and Bob Seymour for the visually impaired event.

Seymour will make her debut at the age of 67, while Hanson will appear at the Games for the first time at 68.

Tony Bonnell will be the only Para-bowler to make a consecutive Commonwealth Games appearance, having also competed at Glasgow 2014.

“The Australian team have had a successful three years or so on the international arena since our last Games, but we know that the competition at this event is always extremely fierce and we will need to be at the top of our game in order to fend off a number of other international powerhouses,” said head coach Steve Glasson.

"It's pleasing to see a number of players afforded the opportunity to contest their first Games; we feel it's the right mix of supremely talented debutants and seasoned campaigners that will give the nation its best chance at success.

"We must also acknowledge the contribution of a number of athletes who weren’t fortunate enough to hear their name called out here today, it must be difficult for many Jackaroos players to hear the names of close friends and teammates read out, but not their own.

"The calibre of the players that weren’t selected is indicative of how strong this team is and how difficult was to choose the final team members."

Bowls is a core sport of the Commonwealth Games, and has been included in the sporting programme since the inaugural Games in 1930, with the exception of 1966 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Australia’s bowlers have won nine gold, nineteen silver and ten bronze medals since 1930, with women not playing until 1982.

The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games bowls event will be held over nine of the eleven days of competition, from April 5 to 13.

Australia’s Chef de Mission Steve Moneghetti, who participated in a bowls demonstration after the announcement, expressed his belief the team had the right mix of youth and experience.

“As Chef de Mission of the Australian Team it is always wonderful to welcome athletes competing in their first Commonwealth Games onto the team,” he said.

“It is great to see six Commonwealth Games debutants as part of this bowls team, and I am sure those athletes will benefit from the wealth of experience on the team led by Karen Murphy who will be competing at her fifth Games.

“Our bowlers really turned it on for the home crowd in Melbourne 2006 and we hope the home crowd on the Gold Coast can lift this team to another great result.”

Commonwealth Games Australia will announce the open team's positions closer to the Games, with each player to contest two of the eight disciplines, of singles, pairs, triples and fours for each gender.