The Australia Group is a

multilateral export control regime A multilateral export control regime is an informal group of like-minded supplier countries that seek to contribute to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, delivery systems, and advanced conventional weapons through national implem ...

(MECR) and an informal group of countries (now joined by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

) established in 1985 (after the use of

chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

s by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

and

biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

s. The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first meeting in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium, in June 1985. With the incorporation of India on 19 January 2018, it now has 43 members, including Australia, New Zealand, the

, all 27

member states of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their o ...

, United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, India, Ukraine, and Argentina. The name comes from Australia's initiative to create the group. Australia manages the secretariat. The initial members of the group had different assessments of which chemical precursors should be subject to

export control Export control is legislation that regulates the export of goods, software and technology. Some items could potentially be useful for purposes that are contrary to the interest of the exporting country. These items are considered to be ''controlled ...

. Later adherents initially had no such controls. Today, members of the group maintain export controls on a uniform list of 90 compounds, including several that are not prohibited for export under the

Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for ...

, but can be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons. Additionally, the Australia Group expanded its standardization of licensing and export controls to cover technology related to the manufacturing of chemical weapons or controlled components. In 2002, the group took two important steps to strengthen export control. The first was the "no-undercut" requirement, which stated that any member of the group considering making an export to another state that had already been denied an export by any other member of the group must first consult with that member state before approving the export. The second was the "catch-all" provision, which requires member states to halt all exports that could be used by importers in chemical or biological weapons programs, regardless of whether the export is on the group's control lists. Delegations representing the members meet every year in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France.

Members

Sovereign states

* (1993) * (1985) * (1989) * (1985) * (2001) * (1985) * (2007) * (2000) * (2004) * (1985) * (2004) * (1991) * (1985) * (1985) * (1985) * (1993) * (1993) * (2018) * (1985) * (1985) * (1985) * (1996) * (2004) * (2004) * (1985) * (2004) * (2013) * (1985) * (1985) * (1986) * (1994) * (1985) * (1995) * (1994) * (2004) * (1985) * (1991) * (1987) * (2000) * (2005) * (1985) * (1985)

International organisations

(1985)

Adherents

According to Australia Group website "AG Adherents notify the AG Chair in writing of their political commitment to adhere to the AG Guidelines and Common Control Lists and any subsequent changes. This adherence is unilateral by the non-member country and not subject to any acceptance decision by the AG membership."https://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/minisite/theaustraliagroupnet/site/en/participants.html As November 2024 the following countries are adherents: * (2015)

References

External links

The Australia Group homepage
{{Authority control International diplomatic organizations Intergovernmental organizations Weapons of mass destruction 1985 establishments in Australia