Australia has won its bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Rwanda, Argentina, Luxembourg and South Korea were also elected to the council in a secret ballot of the UN's 193 members.
Australia needed at least 129 votes and was relying heavily on African, Caribbean and Pacific Island nations for support, AAP reports. It received 140 votes.
It is the fifth time Australia will serve on the Security Council. The two-year tenure commences at the start of 2013.
There are five veto-holding permanent members of the council - the US , Britain, France, Russia and China - and 10 temporary members without veto power.
The ABC reports the seat is a boost for the Federal Government and represents the culmination of a multi-million dollar push first instigated by Kevin Rudd during his time as prime minister.
The Opposition criticised efforts to secure the seat, saying too much time and effort had gone into the campaign at the expensive of other relationships vital to the country's future.
Rwanda candidacy opposed
The vote comes a day after a leaked report by the UN Security Council's Group of Experts said Rwanda was supporting a rebellion in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to the confidential report, seen by Reuters news agency, both Rwanda and Uganda were supporting the M23 rebels, who are expanding their control of parts of Congo's mineral-rich North Kivu province.
Both governments in Kampala and Kigali strenuously denied the allegations.
The Democratic Republic of Congo raised a formal objection to Rwanda's candidacy.
