Jhye Richardson took an early wicket in his test debut to remove Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal as part of an Australian three-wicket first session in the day-night test at the Gabba on Thursday.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Sri Lanka was 58 for three at the tea break.
Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon also picked up wickets in the opening session. At the break, Kusal Mendis was 14 not out with Roshen Silva yet to score.
Australia had earlier named its squad, handing test debuts to Kurtis Patterson and Richardson and recalling Joe Burns for just his second test in more than two years.
Sri Lanka, which has never won a test match in Australia, will have an enhanced opportunity with the suspensions of Steve Smith and David Warner over the ball-tampering scandal last March in South Africa.
A second test is scheduled for Canberra beginning Feb. 1.