Australia and Vanuatu have a strong and enduring bilateral relationship, based on shared values and interests in a prosperous and stable region.

Australia established a presence in Vanuatu in 1978 and championed the case for Vanuatu's independence in the United Nations and Pacific Forums in the lead up to independence in 1980. Australia opened a consulate in 1978, followed by a high commission in Port Vila in 1980, in 2020 we celebrated 40 years of close diplomatic relations. Australia and Vanuatu enjoy a very broad range of links at government, business and community levels. Australia's engagement aligns with Vanuatu's National Sustainable Development Plan 2030 and Australia's 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper. Australia is proud to be Vanuatu's largest bilateral aid donor and closest security partner.

Vanuatu is an archipelagic nation of 83 islands, extending over 1,000 kilometres in a north-south direction between the equator and the tropic of Capricorn. It lies some 2000 kilometres to the northeast of Brisbane in the Coral Sea, at similar latitude to Cairns in North Queensland. The population of Vanuatu is approximately 326,740 (2022). Port Vila, on the island of Efate, is the capital. Formerly known as the New Hebrides, Vanuatu was jointly governed by British and French administrations before attaining independence.

Vanuatu has a unicameral 52-member parliament, elected to a four-year term by universal adult suffrage. The President of the Republic of Vanuatu (constitutional head of state) is elected for a five-year term through secret ballot by an electoral college comprising members of parliament and the presidents of Vanuatu's six provincial governments. The current President, His Excellency Nikenike Vurobaravu, was elected for a five-year term on 25 July 2022. The Prime Minister is elected by Parliament from among its members by secret ballot. Vanuatu's Parliament elected the Hon Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas Prime Minister of Vanuatu on 6  October 2023.