In November 2010, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced a second allocation would be given to Oceania in accordance with the Olympic qualification process.

This prompted appeals, which led to the qualification system being reviewed, tabled and reconfirmed at the FIH Executive Board meeting in Lausanne.

In previous years, only one quota has been available for Oceania resulting in the New Zealand's men's and women's teams often having to go to qualification tournaments in the year of the Olympics.

This year, the top two teams from the Oceania Cup in Australia in early October will qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.