Lexi Webster
India and Australia have historically shared strong cultural, economic, and political ties. Both countries have a long history of diplomatic relations, with Australia having a High Commission in New Delhi and Consulates in several Indian cities, while India has a High Commission in Canberra and Consulate Generals in multiple Australian cities. The two countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and have complementary economies, with Australia providing raw commodities and India offering a talented STEM graduate pool. Additionally, India is a significant source of skilled migration and international students for Australia, and cultural connections such as cricket and the Indian diaspora in Australia further strengthen the relationship between the two nations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic relations | Established in 1941 |
| Current relationship | Comprehensive Strategic Partnership |
| Military cooperation | Joint naval exercise AUSINDEX |
| Commonwealth of Nations | Both are members |
| Founding members | United Nations |
| Regional organisations | Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, ASEAN Regional Forum |
| Mutual interests | Peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region |
| Indian-Australian community | Australia's second-largest and fastest-growing overseas-born group |
| Bilateral trade (2022-23) | $49 billion |
| Australia's exports to India (2022-23) | $32.4 billion |
| Imports from India (2022-3) | $12.6 billion |
| Australian investment in India | $17.6 billion |
| Indian investment in Australia | $34.5 billion |
| Indian diaspora in Australia | 1 million |
| Australia's best friend in Asia | Fifth on a list of six countries |
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What You'll Learn
Cricket and the Indian Premier League
Australia and India have a strong relationship with robust strategic, economic, and community ties. They are both members of the Commonwealth of Nations and share political, economic, security, lingual, and sporting ties. Cricket, and more recently the Indian Premier League (IPL), have been considered "the lifeblood of the Australia-India relationship". Australian cricketers like David Warner, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, and Brett Lee are extremely popular among the Indian people.
The IPL is an Indian professional T20 cricket league founded in 2007. It is organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and features 10 state and city-based franchise teams. The IPL is the most popular and richest cricket league in the world, held annually between March and May. It is also the most-viewed Indian sports event and was the first sporting event to be broadcast live on YouTube in 2010. The IPL is the second-richest sports league in the world by per-match value, after the NFL.
The IPL has had a significant impact on cricket in India and internationally. It has inspired the creation of other Indian sports leagues, such as the Women's Premier League and the Indian Super League, and influenced the business model of international leagues. The IPL has also driven the inclusion of Indian domestic players in the player auction and increased the average salary of the top 10 highest-paid players to the second-highest of all sports leagues in the world.
IPL franchise owners have expanded their business by acquiring teams in other franchise leagues worldwide. For example, in 2025, the RPSG Group purchased a 70% stake in the Manchester Originals for around £81 million, while the Mumbai Indians bought a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles for £60 million. The IPL's popularity and financial success have contributed to the strong Australia-India relationship, providing a platform for Australian cricketers to engage with Indian fans and vice versa.
In summary, cricket and the IPL play a crucial role in connecting Australia and India. The IPL's immense popularity and financial success have strengthened the bond between the two nations, fostering mutual understanding and appreciation for the sport and its players. The IPL has also facilitated cultural exchange and collaboration between Australia and India, contributing to their growing partnership.
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Diplomatic relations and shared interests
India and Australia have shared historical ties dating back to the colonial era under British rule. Diplomatic relations were established in the pre-independence period when the Consulate-General of India was first opened as a Trade Office in Sydney in 1941. In March 1944, Lieutenant General Iven Mackay took up his first position as Australia's first High Commissioner to India.
Both nations were part of the Commonwealth, which laid the foundation for their diplomatic relations after India's independence in 1947. India and Australia are also founding members of the United Nations and members of regional organisations including the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation and ASEAN Regional Forum. They are also members of the Five Interested Parties (FIP) in the WTO context.
In recent years, the two countries have enjoyed strong diplomatic relations, with Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stating that Australia and India's $20 billion two-way trade was "a fraction of what we should aspire to, given the many points of intersection between our economies". In 2014, Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister in 28 years to visit Australia. In 2020, the bilateral relationship was upgraded from a 'Strategic Partnership' in 2009 to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'.
The two countries cooperate in the Quad and trilateral dialogues with Indonesia and France. They also share military ties, including the regular joint naval exercise AUSINDEX and the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA), which allows both nations to access each other's military bases for logistics and maintenance.
Australia and India's economies are highly complementary. Australia has the raw commodities and resources, as well as the skills and technologies that India needs. India, on the other hand, has a large number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates who offer a source of talent and innovation for Australian companies. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA), signed in 2022, aims to boost bilateral trade by reducing tariffs and opening new avenues for economic partnerships.
The two countries also have strong cultural ties, with almost one million Australians tracing their heritage to India. Australia is a top destination for Indian students, with nearly 60,000 Indians on student visas in 2017 and over 100,000 Indians studying in Australian universities. Initiatives such as the Maitri Scholarship Program provide scholarships for Indian students to study in Australia.
Cricket and, more recently, the Indian Premier League have also been considered "the lifeblood of the Australia-India relationship", with Australian cricketers like David Warner, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, and Brett Lee being immensely popular among Indians.
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Trade and economic ties
Australia and India have a strong and growing economic relationship. The two countries have complementary economies, with Australia providing commodities, resources, and skills, while India offers a large market and a source of talent and innovation. As of 2023, India was Australia's fourth-largest export market and fifth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $49 billion. Australian exports to India totalled $32.4 billion, while imports from India stood at $12.6 billion.
The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which came into force in December 2022, has further strengthened their economic ties. Over 85% of Australian goods exports to India are now tariff-free, and high tariffs have been reduced on some agricultural products. This has saved Australian businesses hundreds of millions of dollars and is expected to save exporters around $2 billion in tariffs by the end of 2023.
The Albanese Government has launched a New Roadmap for Australia's Economic Engagement with India, aiming to maximise trade opportunities, benefit businesses and consumers, secure supply chains, and create jobs. The Roadmap identifies four key sectors for growth: clean energy, education and skills, agribusiness, and tourism. It also highlights nearly 50 specific opportunities for accelerated engagement in areas such as defence, sports, culture, space, and technology.
To support this ambitious plan, the Australian government is investing $16 million in the Australia-India Trade and Investment Accelerator Fund to help Australian businesses unlock new commercial opportunities in India. An additional $4 million is being invested in the Maitri ('friendship') Grants program to enhance people-to-people, business-to-business, and cultural links.
Australia and India also have a history of trade relations dating back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries when coal and horses were exported from Australia to India. India was Australia's first major trading partner, and bilateral trade has grown significantly over the years, reaching $21.9 billion in 2016. Australia and India continue to advance negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to further strengthen their economic ties.
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Migration and community
Migration between India and Australia has a long history. There is evidence of ancient migration from India to Australia around 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, based on DNA and language development. In the 17th century, many early voyages to the Pacific by European colonial powers had an Indian connection, with Indians employed on the ships. In the 1800s, a small group of Indians arrived in Australia as convict labourers, and in the latter half of the century, many Indians settled on the northern coast of New South Wales as agricultural labourers, traders, and hawkers.
In the early 20th century, the 'White Australia' policies restricted migration from India, and in 1901, the number of Indians in Australia was estimated to be between 4,700 and 7,600. However, after India gained independence from Britain in 1947, the migration of Indian-born Anglo-Western white British citizens to Australia increased.
Today, India is Australia's largest source of skilled migrants and the second-largest source of international students. According to the 2021 Census, 976,000 Australians reported Indian heritage, including 673,000 Indian-born Australians, making it the second-largest and fastest-growing diaspora in Australia. Indian students in Australia numbered 122,391 in September 2023, and in 2017-18, India was the largest source of new permanent annual migrants to Australia. Indians in Australia also have high levels of education, with 54.6% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, more than three times the national average.
The Indian-Australian community forms a vital living bridge between the two nations. Initiatives such as the Centre for Australia-India Relations, the Australia India Leadership Dialogue, and the Australia India Youth Dialogue aim to strengthen cultural exchanges and promote policy dialogue. The Indian diaspora in Australia is politically engaged, with a 2022 survey showing that 43% of Indian Australians identify with the Australian Labor Party, 26% with the Coalition, 15% with the Australian Greens, and 5% with One Nation Party.
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Military cooperation
India and Australia have a long history of military cooperation, dating back to World War I when Indian troops fought alongside the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) in Gallipoli. This association between the two countries' militaries can even be traced back to 1885, when soldiers from the British Indian Army's Sikh Regiment fought alongside Australian troops in Sudan.
In the 1960s, Australia offered military aid to India in response to the Sino-Indian War. In recent times, the two countries have conducted joint naval exercises, such as Malabar 2007, and Australia has participated in Exercise Milan, a multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy, since 2003. The annual bilateral exercise AUSTRAHIND, alternatively hosted by each country, is designed to build positive military relations and promote interoperability.
In 2014, a bilateral Framework for Security Cooperation was agreed upon, leading to increased cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, border control, and regional and international institutions. This was followed by the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) in 2020, which allows the two countries to use each other's military bases for refuelling and maintenance of aircraft and naval vessels, enabling more complex military engagement and combined responsiveness to regional humanitarian disasters.
Both countries are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), along with Japan and the United States, which focuses on defence communications in the context of China's military expansion. The rise of China has been a significant motivator for the increased strategic coordination, military interoperability, and maritime cooperation between India and Australia.
Australia and India also engage in defence scientific and technological cooperation, with Australian armed services providing classified briefings to the Indian military on potential future platforms. They share a growing number of platforms, increasing opportunities for joint training and interoperability.
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Frequently asked questions
India and Australia have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and are close partners with strong and growing strategic, economic, and community ties. The two countries have strong trading and migration, culture, arts, music, and international sports connections.
One challenge in the relationship is the perception of Indian intelligence operations in Australia. In 2024, news broke that Indian intelligence agents had been removed from Australia for attempting to cultivate local politicians, compromising airport security, and seeking classified trade information. Another challenge is the lack of a free trade agreement between the two countries, despite their strong economic ties.
There are several opportunities for the relationship between India and Australia to grow, including through business, politics, media, education, and cultural exchanges. India's strong fundamentals, such as its youthful demographics, burgeoning consumer class, and infrastructure investments, present significant opportunities for Australian businesses and investments.
