As a founding member in 1919, Australia has a long association with the ILO. Australia is the 12th highest contributor to the ILO budget. The most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations for ILO purposes are the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) .

Australia supports the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Australia has also ratified 57 ILO Conventions including six of the eight fundamental Conventions, and is currently in the process of ratifying the Convention concerning Occupational Safety and Health and the Working Environment, 1981 (no. 155).

Australia has ratified the 1997 ILO Constitutional amendment that will allow the ILC to abrogate or withdraw obsolete Conventions and advocates retification of this amendment by other countries to enable it to come into force. Australia has recently denounced several obsolete or outdated Conventions in the spirit of the Constitutional amendment.