In 2019, 59% of Australians said the Liberal–National Coalition would do a better job at maintaining a strong alliance with the United States.

In 2025, we asked Australians which of the two major political parties they thought would do a better job at handling specific foreign policy issues. No party had a majority on any single issue.

The incumbent Labor government had the most pronounced leads over the Liberal–National Coalition opposition on promoting and defending human rights (25-point lead) and managing Australia’s response to climate change (21-point lead). Australians also said Labor would do a better job than the Coalition at responding to the Russia–Ukraine war (eight-point lead). By contrast, the Coalition was preferred on maintaining a capable defence force (six-point lead). Responses were more evenly divided on responding to the Israel–Hamas conflict (four-point lead for Labor with a greater proportion of undecideds than support for either of the parties), managing immigration (two-point lead for the Coalition), and managing the economy (two-point lead for Labor).