Australia–Indonesia relations are the foreign relations between Australia and Indonesia. The two neighbouring countries share an extensive maritime boundary and have a history of contact predating European colonisation. In the 18th century, seafarers from Makassar, Sulawesi made regular voyages to northern Australia to collect trepang (sea cucumbers), and these trips brought them into contact with Australia's Aboriginal communities.
During Indonesia's war of independence against the Netherlands, Australian maritime unions supported the Indonesian Republic through the boycott of Dutch shipping, and the Australian government backed the Indonesian Republic diplomatically and represented it on the United Nations Security Council. Following the transfer of sovereignty from the Netherlands in December 1949, Australia formally recognised the Republic of Indonesia.
Relations afterwards alternated between cooperation and serious disputes. Concerning the territory of western New Guinea, Australia initially supported continued Dutch control. Australian forces later fought Indonesian troops during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in the 1960s. Indonesia's invasion and occupation of East Timor became a major source of strain after 1975, although political, economic and security ties expanded under president Suharto and successive Australian prime ministers.
Relations reached a low point during the East Timor crisis in 1999, when Australia led an international force deployed after East Timor's independence referendum. Cooperation was rebuilt during the following decade, helped by joint responses to terrorism and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The Lombok Treaty in 2006 established a new framework for security cooperation and included commitments on sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference.
The relationship has since become more institutionalised, although occasional disagreements remain. Indonesian–Australian cooperation includes defence, counter-terrorism, policing, maritime security, disaster management and intelligence sharing. Relations were disrupted in 2013 by revelations of Australian surveillance of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other Indonesian political figures, and later disputes have included capital punishment in Indonesia, asylum-seeker policy, West Papua, and Australian defence policy.
The governments established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018, followed by the Indonesia–Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) two years later. The two countries signed a treaty-level defence agreement in 2024 and the Treaty on Common Security in 2026. Both countries also cooperate through multilateral settings, such as the G20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Indian Ocean Rim Association and ASEAN-led regional forums.
Economic and social ties include trade, investment, development assistance, education, migration and tourism. Two-way trade in goods and services exceeded A$33 billion in 2025, and Indonesia is a major Australian market for wheat and live cattle. Australia maintains development programmes in Indonesia covering economic governance, infrastructure, public services, climate resilience and democratic institutions. More than 200,000 Indonesians have studied in Australia, and Indonesia has been the most popular destination under Australia's New Colombo Plan. Indonesia is the leading overseas destination for Australian residents, with Bali accounting for much of this travel. Indonesian tourism to Australia has also grown. Public opinion surveys have generally found favourable views of the other country, although there are gaps in knowledge and occasional concerns about security and political interference.
Historical background and early contacts Early maritime contacts
Bugis-Portuguese writer and cartographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia included an account attributed to Chiaymasiouro, described as the king of Damuth, who said that he sailed south from Blambangan, eastern Java, and reached the port of Lucaantara after 12 days. He described the inhabitants as Javanese like those of Java, although their language was somewhat different. In a note to his English translation and commentary, historian J. V. Mills recorded competing identifications of Lucaantara with Australia or an island off its northern coast, Sumba and Madura.
By the 18th century, crews sailing from Makassar made annual voyages to northern Australia to collect and process trepang for a trade that passed through Makassar to China. This continuing fishing tradition in Australian waters is maintained by communities from eastern Indonesia, including the Bajau, Makassans, Bugis, Rotenese, Butonese and Madurese.
The earliest known written reference to trepang collection in Australia dates to 1754 and probably concerns the Kimberley coast, while exploitation of Arnhem Land waters appears to have begun around 1780. The two principal Australian fishing regions were Marege along the Arnhem Land coast and Kayu Jawa off the Kimberley. During the first half of the 19th century, between 30 and 60 praus carrying at least 1,000 crewmen reached the Northern Territory coast in a typical year.
The industry brought the visiting crews into regular contact with coastal Aboriginal communities, and some Aboriginal people travelled aboard the praus to Makassar and farther into the archipelago. At the Malarrak complex in north-western Arnhem Land, researchers identified rock paintings of a Southeast Asian prau and a Macassan-style badik. South Australian authorities ended Makassan trepanging in their waters, and the last recorded prau working the Northern Territory coast arrived for the 1906-07 season.
Makassan contact also left a linguistic legacy. A Makassan pidgin was used as a lingua franca in parts of northern Australia, while words from Makassarese and other languages used by the visiting crews entered Aboriginal languages across the Top End.
Colonial rule, migration, and early Australian engagement
From the 1870s, workers from the Dutch East Indies were recruited for the pearling and sugar-cane industries of northern Australia. At Shark Bay, the pearling workforce expanded from eight recruits brought from Batavia in 1871 to almost 1,000 by 1875. An early group of 44 workers came from Makassar and was recorded as "Malays". At Federation in 1901, around 1,000 people from what is now Indonesia lived in Australia, almost all in Queensland and Western Australia.
The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 ended the recruitment and use of Indonesian labour in northern fisheries and Queensland plantations, and most Indonesian sugar workers returned to the Indies. Pearling employers obtained an exemption from the exclusion of non-European indentured labour, and workers described as Malays, including Koepangers from Timor, continued to work around Broome, Darwin and Thursday Island.
In the early 20th century, the Dutch Royal Packet Line connected the islands of the Indies but did not run to northern Australia, while Australian regulations restricted arrivals and labour recruitment from the north. An Australian trade delegation sailed from Sydney to Batavia in 1934 and also visited Makassar. In 1935, Australia appointed Charles Critchley as its first trade commissioner in Batavia. By 1939, 5% of the Indies' trade was with Australia, and military contacts began only in late 1940.
World War II and Indonesian independence
After Japan entered the Pacific War in December 1941, Australian troops were sent to Timor, Ambon and Java under secret arrangements with the Dutch colonial authorities. Japanese forces conquered the Dutch East Indies by March 1942, and many residents of the colony evacuated to Australia. In 1944, the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration established its government-in-exile at Camp Columbia in Brisbane and used it as a base for plans to retake and reconstruct the colony.
By the time of Japan's surrender, about 50,000 Australian troops were stationed in Borneo and eastern Indonesia. They were assigned to accept Japanese surrenders and restore Dutch authority. These duties led to conflict with Indonesian nationalists in parts of Borneo and eastern Indonesia, including South Sulawesi.
Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, two days after Japan's surrender. Indonesian exiles in Australia formed organisations including the Komite Indonesia Merdeka and established links with the Australian Communist Party and Australian government officials. In September 1945, Australian maritime unions began a boycott of Dutch shipping in Australian waters in support of Indonesia's declaration of independence. Workers from Australia, Indonesia and India participated in the boycott, and Indian seamen formed the main group preventing blacklisted vessels from departing.
The Chifley government supported the Republic diplomatically while continuing to seek an agreed Dutch-Indonesian settlement. Its position remained cautious and conditional. Australia extended de facto recognition to the authority of the Indonesian Republic on 9 July 1947. After the Netherlands launched its first major military offensive later that month, Australia referred the conflict to the United Nations Security Council. The Netherlands chose Belgium to represent it on the Security Council's Good Offices Committee, the Republic chose Australia, and those two representatives selected the United States as the third member. The committee secured a truce and political agreement in early 1948, but negotiations broke down when the Netherlands began another offensive in December. Under the agreement reached on 2 November 1949, the Netherlands transferred sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia on 27 December, and Australia formally recognised the new state that day.
Diplomatic history Early relations and Western New Guinea Indonesia became a full member of the Colombo Plan in 1953 after previously receiving Australian scholarships and training outside formal membership. The Indonesian government had hesitated over whether joining would compromise its foreign-policy independence, but proceeded after deciding that membership carried no political conditions. Indonesian communications minister Djuanda considered Colombo Plan assistance more useful to Indonesia despite its smaller scale than earlier American aid. Indonesian daily newspaper Abadi described relations with Australia as generally good apart from western New Guinea.
The 1949 settlement left Western New Guinea under the status quo pending further negotiations. Indonesian international-relations researcher Siswanto describes this as an incomplete transfer of sovereignty from the Netherlands to Indonesia. In contrast, Australia supported the continuation of Dutch control. On 17 August 1954, Indonesia asked for the dispute to be placed on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly. Australia opposed this move, maintaining that the UN lacked jurisdiction.
Indonesian foreign minister Subandrio travelled to Australia in February 1959 and presented Indonesia's position, including on western New Guinea, to an Australian cabinet meeting. Prime Minister Robert Menzies visited Indonesia for seven days that December following a formal invitation from Djuanda. Djuanda's public welcome described Australia as a friendly neighbouring country. Daily newspaper Pedoman welcomed Menzies's visit but said Australia's support for Dutch sovereignty impeded warmer relations and called for Canberra to adopt a neutral position.