In 2005, Australia and Timor-Leste made an agreement to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years. They will split the hydrocarbon income outside of the Joint Petroleum Development Area included in the Timor Sea Treaty. The dispute with Timor-Leste impedes making a new boundary with Indonesia in the Timor Sea.

The regional states express concern over Australia's declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone. Australia also asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica. In 2004, Australia submitted a claim to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend its continental margins covering over 3.37 million square kilometers, expanding its seabed roughly thirty percent greater than the exclusive economic zone.

Since 2003, Australia has led the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands. They work to maintain order and reinforce regional security.