Australian Federal Police say the 33-year-old man is one of two men arrested on board a yacht carrying a tonne of the illicit drug also known as P.
Police say the haul has an estimated street value of up to $A750 million ($NZ789m).
The yacht was intercepted off the New South Wales coast near Lake Macquarie, after an international sting involving agencies from Australia, New Caledonia and the United Kingdom.