ASEAN-Australia overview

What is ASEAN?

Australia has longstanding ties with Southeast Asia and a shared vision for an open, stable, and prosperous region. Central to this vision is ASEAN. Deepening engagement with ASEAN and its member states is a priority for Australia.

ASEAN is a political and economic union which includes 10 Southeast Asian states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2022, ASEAN Leaders announced in-principle agreement to admit Timor-Leste as ASEAN’s 11th member. Timor-Leste currently attends ASEAN events as an observer on a pathway to full membership.

50 years of ASEAN-Australia relations

‘Australia and Southeast Asia are deeply connected through our economies; our shared interest in a region that is stable, peaceful and prosperous; and our deep people-to-people connections,’ – Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese (ASEAN-related Summits - Jakarta, 8 September 2023).

Australia and ASEAN have a strong connection; more than one million Australians have Southeast Asian heritage. We are tied together by more than geography – across people, business, education, tourism and more. Since 2013, Australia has had a resident Ambassador to ASEAN in Jakarta, allowing Australia to further support ASEAN priorities and the region’s needs.

Australia became ASEAN’s first Dialogue Partner in 1974 and one of ASEAN’s first Comprehensive Strategic Partners in 2021. In 2024, Australia is hosting the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit to commemorate half a century of cooperation. This will be the second time Australia has hosted ASEAN Leaders, with the first ASEAN-Australia Special Summit held in Sydney in 2018.

The 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit will be an important opportunity to celebrate our strong ties and further enhance cooperation under the ASEAN–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Dedicated ASEAN-Australia Week activities will be held alongside the 2024 Special Summit comprising a program of academic, educational, sporting and cultural events showcasing the depth and diversity of links between Australian institutions and ASEAN Member States. 

ASEAN-Australia Cooperation

In October 2021, ASEAN and Australia made the historic decision to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). Since establishing the CSP with ASEAN, we have ramped up cooperation, advanced shared priorities and implemented new programs.

Under the CSP, a broad range of cooperation is being taken forward - including in energy transition, the digital economy, health, and countering human trafficking. Together, we are delivering real outcomes, for example:

• Through 100 Australia for ASEAN scholarships for emerging leaders to study in areas that support progress on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, an initiative that guides ASEAN’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and promotes an enabling environment for peace, stability and prosperity.
• The Aus4ASEAN Digital Transformation and Futures Skills Initiative, addressing our region’s future skills needs through short courses scholarships and policy dialogues.

2023 marked 20 years of ASEAN-Australia partnership to combat Trafficking in Persons. Australia has provided more than $160 million in development assistance since 2003, to strengthen criminal justice responses and improve victim protection. Over 10,000 government officials have now been trained through this cooperation to better identify, protect and support victims of trafficking and their families.

Through our long-standing program of development cooperation across ASEAN’s three pillars of cooperation – socio-cultural, political/security, and economic – we continue to secure positive outcomes for ASEAN, Australia and the region.

Case Study

Aus4ASEAN Future Initiative

The Aus4ASEAN Futures Initiative ($204 million, 2022-32) is an agile and responsive facility that
addresses complex challenges and supports ASEAN-led projects, through ASEAN systems, including:

• Developing the ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality.
• Supporting the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement.
• Developing an ASEAN Tariff Finder.
• Supporting implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.