'Play a key role': PM launches bid for security council

Australia having a seat at the United Nations Security Council will be able to help with the cost of living back home, the prime minister insists.

Anthony Albanese launched a formal bid for Australia to serve a two-year term on powerful UN body in 2029 and 2030.

A vote for the spot won't be held until mid 2028, but lobbying efforts will intensify during the prime minister's visit to New York for the UN General Assembly.

The prime minister said Australia's role on the council would be able to benefit ordinary citizens.

"Engagement with the world matters. It matters because it makes a difference to the cost of living, to inflation, to Australians' way of life," he told reporters in New York on Monday, Australian time.

"That is why we can't afford to not be engaged with the world, because it has a direct impact on the quality of life of Australians on a day-to-day basis.

"We have an opportunity through this potential seat on the UN Security Council to play a key role in shaping the global issues that really matter to Australians."

Australia has served on the security council five times since the UN was established following World War II.

The most recent stint was in 2013 and 2014, where Australia was able to lead a response to the Russian downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Mr Albanese said the role Australia played during that period was evidence of what a spot on the council could achieve.

"We do need to stand up to the Middle East conflict. I think there is a role for middle powers to engage, and Australia has done that as we've engaged with the war in Ukraine in the coalition of the willing," he said.

Two countries are elected to the security council from the Western Europe and Others Group, which includes Australia.

So far, only Australia and Finland have put their hands up for a spot on the council, but other countries from the bloc could still launch bids.

Even if the two countries run unopposed, Australia would still need support from two-thirds of the 193 UN member states to be successful.