The India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement is a bilateral agreement that serves as the foundational treaty for the civil nuclear partnership between the two nations. It was signed on September 5, 2014, during Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's visit to India, and entered into force on November 13, 2015. The agreement's primary purpose was to end Australia's long-standing ban on uranium exports to India, a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), thereby solving the problem of fuel security for India's expanding nuclear program. This was made possible after the 2008 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Waiver and Australia's policy shift in 2011.
The key mechanism of the agreement is the supply of Australian uranium, which must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and remain under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards throughout its use in India. The material must also be confined to India's civil nuclear facilities, separate from military installations. The agreement connects directly to India's Nuclear Energy Mission, which targets 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047. Domestically, it is reinforced by the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, enacted in December 2025, which allows private sector participation in the nuclear energy sector.
The core agreement has not been replaced, but it was recently operationalized by the finalization of an Administrative Arrangement on July 9, 2026, during the Third India–Australia Annual Summit. This arrangement lays down the procedures for commercial exports and enables Australian mining companies to sign contracts with Indian private companies, a change facilitated by the SHANTI Act, 2025.