Australia

Country Spotlight

Australia is a party to all major nonproliferation treaties and export control regimes. After developing a chemical warfare capability during World War II and collaborating with the UK on nuclear weapons testing, Australia no longer maintains offensive WMD programs. In 2021 Australia announced a deal to purchase American nuclear-powered submarines.

Region East Asia and the Pacific

31% World’s uranium exports

1985 Australia Group founded

12 British nuclear weapons tests hosted

Nuclear

Has never possessed or developed nuclear weapons
World’s third-largest producer and exporter of uranium
Party to the Treaty of Rarotonga, which established a nuclear weapons-free zone in the South Pacific

Australia Submarine Capabilities

Fact Sheet

Australia Submarine Capabilities

Tutorial on Nuclear 101

Teaching Tool

Tutorial on Nuclear 101

Biological

Has never possessed a biological warfare capacity
Conducts research on biological materials and biosecurity
Ratified the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC) in 1977

Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation

Teaching Tool

Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation

Australia Overview

Fact Sheet

Australia Overview

Missile

Will begin to produce its own guided hypersonic missiles
Is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and was involved in drafting the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC)
Deploys AGM-158 cruise missiles on its F/A-18A/B aircraft

Tutorial on Missiles and Other WMD Delivery Systems

Teaching Tool

Tutorial on Missiles and Other WMD Delivery Systems

Overview of The CNS Missile and SLV Launch Databases

Database

Overview of The CNS Missile and SLV Launch Databases

Chemical

Destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles after World War II
Chairs the Australia Group, which enhances cooperation on controlling the spread of materials related to chemical weapons development
Ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1994

Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation

Teaching Tool

Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation

NTI Tutorials

Interactive & Visualization

NTI Tutorials

Treaties and Regimes Memberships

See all Treaties & Regimes

Australia Group (AG)

The Australia Group is an informal association of member states that aims to coordinate national export control laws to minimize the risk of proliferation of chemical and biological weapons.

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Treaty of Rarotonga

The South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone (SPNFZ) Treaty of Rarotonga makes the South Pacific a NWFZ, prohibiting nuclear explosive devices in the region.

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NPT

The NPT is a treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons through the three pillars of non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

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Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear explosion tests on Earth. It needs eight key countries to ratify before entry into force.

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