Burns had been considered a near certainty given his goal-scoring form for Wellington Phoenix in the 2014-15 season, while Western Sydney Wanderers' Juric is likely to act as the understudy to first-choice centre-forward Tim Cahill.
While the selections of both Burns and Juric - for a total of six forwards - may be considered a surprise, the inclusion of Sydney FC's Terry Antonis and Aston Villa's Chris Herd are possibly more so.
Midfielder Antonis has impressed for Sydney FC this season but missed Australia's final pre-tournament friendly in Japan after crashing his car on the way to the airport.
That has not cost the youngster his place in the tournament though.
Herd's inclusion is intriguing given his lack of playing time for Premier League club Villa, considering Postecoglou's mantra that regular games are critical to selection.
Able to play in midfield and across the backline, the 25-year-old's versatility appears to have counted in his favour.
Herd has not played a senior club match since October when on loan at Bolton Wanderers.
Australia's pre-tournament training camp begins in Melbourne on December 27, with Postecoglou's side playing the opening match of the competition against Kuwait at AAMI Park on January 9.
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Mathew Ryan (Club Brugge), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United)
Defenders: Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Ivan Franjic (Torpedo Moscow), Chris Herd (Aston Villa), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Motors), Aziz Behich (Bursaspor), Trent Sainsbury (PEC Zwolle), Jason Davidson (West Brom)
Midfielders: Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), James Troisi (Zulte Waregem), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town), Terry Antonis (Sydney FC)
Forwards: Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen), Mathew Leckie (Ingolstadt), Nathan Burns (Wellington Phoenix), Tommy Oar (Utrecht), Tomi Juric (Western Sydney Wanderers)
