Meetings of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand have taken place with both countries since 1981. Since that date there have been regular interparliamentary meetings (IPMs) taking place both in Europe and in Australia and New Zealand.
 
The meetings of the delegation with their counterparts are the focal point for the interparliamentary element of the relationship between the European Union and Australia and New Zealand. The IPMs with Australia allow for a regular review of the Joint Declarations on Relations between the European Union and Australia and New Zealand. These two Declarations provide a framework for the bilateral relationship and cooperation with the two countries. The regular agenda items in the parliamentary meetings cover areas such as trade; agriculture; tackling climate change; development and economic cooperation; science and technology; the promotion of global and regional security, countering terrorism, and human rights.