Foreign relations exist between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

. Australia administered Nauru as a dependent territory from 1914 to 1968 and has remained one of Nauru's foremost economic and aid partners thereafter. Nauru has a High Commission in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and a consulate-general in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Australia is one of only two countries to have a High Commission in Nauru. Both countries are members of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

History

During World War I, Australia seized control of Nauru, a German territory. Britain, Australia and New Zealand were given a joint

League of Nations Mandate A League of Nations mandate represented a legal status under international law for specific territories following World War I, involving the transfer of control from one nation to another. These mandates served as legal documents establishing th ...

over Nauru in 1920, but the island was administered by Australia. It was governed by Australia as a United Nations Trust Territory after World War II. In 1968, Nauru became an independent sovereign nation, following the Australian parliament's passage of the ''

Nauru Independence Act 1967 The ''Nauru Independence Act 1967'' is an act of the Parliament of Australia which resulted in the independence of Nauru and the end of its status as a UN trust territory administered by Australia. The act authorised the Australian governmen ...

''.

Bilateral relations since Nauru's independence

In 1989, Nauru appealed against Australia to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

, due to the environmental devastation inflicted by

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

mining during the colonial period. In 1993, Australia offered Nauru an out-of-court settlement of 2.5 million

Australian dollar The Australian dollar (currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar, dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official ...

s annually for 20 years. In 2001, bilateral relations were strengthened by an agreement known as the "

Pacific Solution The Pacific Solution is the name given to the Australian Government, government of Australia's policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention centres on island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Austral ...

". Nauru agreed to host a detention centre for refugee applicants seeking

asylum in Australia Asylum in Australia has been granted to many refugees since 1945, when half a million Europeans displaced by World War II were given asylum. Since then, there have been periodic waves of asylum seekers from South East Asia and the Middle East, ...

, in exchange for economic aid. This agreement came to an end in 2007, following the election of

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

as Prime Minister of Australia, prompting Nauruan concerns about the future of the island's revenue. In 2008, talks began between Australia and Nauru regarding the future of the former's economic development aid to the latter. Nauruan Foreign and

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

Kieren Keke Kieren Aedogan Ankwong Keke (born 27 June 1971) is a Nauruan politician and medical doctor. He is a member of the Parliament of Nauru and former Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Background He is currently a leading figure o ...

stated that his country did not want aid handouts. One possible solution currently being explored would be for Australia to assist Nauru in setting up a "boat repair industry" for regional fishing vessels. In July 2008, Australia pledged €17 million in aid for the following financial year, along with assistance for "a plan aimed at helping Nauru to survive without aid", according to

ABC Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

. On 9 December 2024, Australia and Nauru signed a joint security treaty which provided for Australia to provide Nauru with A$100 million (US$64 million) in direct aid over five years in exchange for Australia consulting with Nauru before signing any bilateral agreements with other countries.

Economic relations

In 1972, the government of Nauru bought the land at a price of A$19 million which became

Nauru House Nauru House (also called 80 Collins Street) is a landmark 52-storey building located in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. The building was designed by architectural firm Perrott Lyon Timlock & Kesa and completed in 1 ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

as an international investment. In 2004, the Nauruan Government was forced to sell Nauru House to pay off debts. Australia remains one of Nauru's two main diplomatic and economic partners, along with the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australia-Nauru Relations Australia and the Commonwealth of Nations

Bilateral relations of Nauru Nauru and the Commonwealth of Nations Relations of colonizer and former colony