Relationship dossier
Germany
Australia
Relationship assessment
Germany and Australia sustain a broad partnership with growing defense cooperation
Germany toward Australia
+50Germany established a strategic partnership with Australia in 2013 and concluded a defense cooperation agreement with it in 2021. German forces have also participated in Australia's Talisman Sabre military exercise, supporting practical defense ties.
Australia toward Germany
+50Australia has maintained a strategic partnership with Germany since 2013 and concluded a defense cooperation agreement with it in 2021. Australian participation in bilateral defense activities and exercises supports practical cooperation with Germany.
Overall relationship
+50The relationship rests on durable strategic and defense cooperation frameworks, with practical military engagement complementing broader diplomatic, trade and research ties. These features support a substantially cooperative partnership, while the countries do not share a formal mutual-defense alliance.
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
Germany and Australia maintain a broad partnership spanning diplomacy, defense, trade and research. Their 2013 strategic partnership and 2021 defense cooperation agreement provide durable frameworks for collaboration. German participation in Australia's Talisman Sabre exercise has added a practical military dimension. The relationship is cooperative, though it is not a formal mutual-defense alliance.
Key developments
Germany and Australia established a strategic partnership.
The countries concluded a defense cooperation agreement.
German forces participated in Australia's Talisman Sabre military exercise.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which the 2021 defense cooperation agreement has produced sustained joint activities is unclear.
- The scale and continuity of bilateral cooperation in trade, research and regional security are uncertain.