The Australia exhibition will follow such other high-profile events as a major survey of Manet's portraiture and a look at Mexican art between 1910 and 1940.
Plans also include appointing staff to help develop writing workshops, events and activity packs, and a touring exhibition to visit schools, festivals and community venues.
Events which have already been confirmed are an exhibition of Gustav Klimt's work at Tate Liverpool and an opera based around the city's famous Adelphi Hotel.
Although the museum is not set for completion until 2018, it is already holding events, such as the Design in Motion exhibition, which will celebrate seven contemporary Scottish artists on the 13th February.