"Tasman Rugby Union have given their blessing for Pete to pursue his international rugby aspirations, and will now have certainty ahead of their Mitre 10 Cup season."
Samu signed with the Brumbies for the 2019 Super Rugby season, committing his international future to Australia.
The possibility of Samu representing Australia despite being contracted to NZR was brought into the spotlight last week after Hurricanes loose forward Brad Shields was released from his contract with NZR to represent England. Shields will leave the Hurricanes to join English side Wasps at the end of the Super Rugby season.
Samu was left out of the Crusaders squad to face the Chiefs in Hamilton at the weekend with the Wallabies squad being named earlier in the week. However, the dispute over his contract was not solved before the squad was named.
As a result, Samu was a late inclusion on the bench for Scott Robertson's side for their 34-20 win.
Robertson said he was surprised by the amount of interest had been generated in Samu's unique situation, but the loose forward hadn't let it affect his mindset with the team.
"There's been a lot of hype," Robertson said. "I'm surprised around the interest and how many headlines and opinion pieces there have been.
"He's just left it up to his agent. He's a quiet guy and doesn't say much anyway."
Samu played the final 20 minutes in Saturday's match, helping the side to hold off a strong challenge from the Chiefs.
It was believed that NZR's were demanding $50,000 to release Samu from his provincial contract, and just two nights ago, NZR noted that their "proposals have not been accepted."
However, Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle said she was happy a compromise had finally been reached.
"I want to thank New Zealand Rugby for their consideration in releasing Peter for international duties," she said.
"Our discussions were robust but fair and I'm pleased we've reached an agreement to allow Peter the opportunity to represent his country."
