The Australia Group

Fighting the spread of chemical and biological weapons. Strengthening global security.

Australia Group Membership

Countries interested in applying for Australia Group membership should, in the first instance, forward a third person note with an expression of interest to the Australia Group Chair. The Chair will then inform AG participants and seeks their views and/or list the item for discussion at the next AG plenary meeting. After AG participants agree to consider the application, the Chair will liaise with the candidate country for provision of a formal application with detailed information on the country’s legislation and policy of export controls, relevant to the purposes of the AG, to ensure it addresses the criteria for participation. The candidate country must meet all the criteria and no exceptions or exemptions are made.

AG participants will then scrutinise the application and may take up specific issues and questions with the candidate country bilaterally or through the AG Chair. The Chair will seek advice from AG participants on the status of their scrutiny of the application and determine when the AG is ready to take a decision as to whether the candidate country should be admitted to the AG. The decision is made by consensus i.e. all AG participants must agree to admit the candidate country.

Criteria for participation include, but are not limited to:

Note: This criteria is part of the AG’s long-standing policy on membership.