He also played in three matches in the 2008–09 Sheffield Shield season, but he was far less successful in the longer form of the game. Despite having started the season only hopeful of playing a few matches for Queensland, by March Laughlin was called up to the Australia squads for a series of five One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals against South Africa. Laughlin and fellow fast bowler Brett Geeves were drafted into the squad to replace Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, who were being rested as a precaution before the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and The Ashes. He did alright in the matches, finishing with four wickets in the ODIs, but he didn't star in any of them. After this brief stint in the national team he was not included in Australia's squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and he wasn't given a Cricket Australia contract. His career went downhill quickly, as he suffered from a painful stomach injury and was only able to play six state games in the 2009–10 summer, then in 2011 he was cut from Queensland's contract list altogether. When Laughlin was cut from Queensland's contract list he changed state teams to Tasmania, joining them for the 2011–12 Ryobi One-Day Cup. Echoing the start to his career for Queensland, Laughlin took his second six-wicket haul in his second match for Tasmania, also against New South Wales. He also played for Tasmania's team in the new Big Bash League (BBL), the Hobart Hurricanes. Despite being cut from Tasmania's contract list at the end of the season, his form for the Hurricanes was good enough that he was named in Australia's extended 30-man squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20. Though Laughlin was unable to play much cricket for Tasmania, his performances for the Hurricanes were stellar in BBL02. He took 14 wickets for the tournament, the most of any player, and was brought back into the national team for a two-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka. He didn't make the most of his opportunity and his performances were sub-par, as he fell short of the international standard and conceded 20 runs off of the final over of one of the matches. Despite his failures in international cricket, Laughlin continued to perform strongly in domestic Twenty20 competitions in the 2013–14 season. He started to play for New Zealand team the Northern Districts Knights and was a crucial part of the side as they won the HRV Cup. including his third six-wicket haul and his first in a Twenty20 against Wellington cricket team.