Relationship dossier
Australia
Vanuatu
Relationship assessment
Substantial development and practical cooperation, with uncertainty surrounding a proposed security agreement.
Australia toward Vanuatu
+55The Australian government provides substantial development assistance to Vanuatu and has supported disaster response, police cooperation, and labor-mobility programs. Australia and Vanuatu also signed a security agreement in 2022, though its subsequent status is unclear.
Vanuatu toward Australia
+35The Vanuatu government has engaged with Australia through bilateral development cooperation and labor-mobility arrangements, and participated in negotiations culminating in a security agreement signed in 2022. The agreement's subsequent status is unclear.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship is underpinned by sustained Australian development assistance and practical cooperation in areas including policing, disaster response, and labor mobility. The 2022 security agreement reflected an effort to deepen ties but also attracted domestic scrutiny in Vanuatu, leaving uncertainty about its status and implementation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Australia and Vanuatu maintain a substantial development and practical cooperation relationship. Australian government assistance has supported development and disaster response, alongside police and security cooperation and labor-mobility programs. Vanuatu has engaged in bilateral development and labor arrangements with Australia. A proposed security agreement signed in 2022 drew domestic scrutiny in Vanuatu, and its subsequent status is unclear.
Areas of tension
- Domestic scrutiny in Vanuatu over the 2022 security agreement and its implications for national sovereignty and foreign-policy independence.
Key developments
Australia and Vanuatu signed a Partnership for Development, providing a framework for bilateral development cooperation.
Australia and Vanuatu signed a security agreement intended to expand bilateral cooperation; its subsequent status is unclear.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral security cooperation, including the status of the 2022 agreement, are unclear.
- The scale and terms of Vanuatu’s participation in Australian labor-mobility programs may have changed.