The Malaysian and Australian education systems have centrally driven initiatives that promote teachers' reflection on their educational practice. While focused on improving student learning outcomes, the role of teachers' reflective thinking is contextualised differently in each country. This study investigates how pre-service teachers understand reflective thinking, and the degree to which the policies and procedures in the different educational jurisdictions influence this. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examines the contributions of lifelong learning skills, self-assessment ability, self-belief, teaching awareness and reflective thinking skills in explaining the similarities and differences in reflective thinking practices among pre-service teachers in Malaysia and Australia. We found that while the policy and procedures of the different jurisdictions had some influence, the underpinning educational philosophies and cultural values were more strongly implicated.