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The subject of the article is the security and defence policy of Australia in the 2010s in view of the rapidly growing power of the People's Republic of China. The article analyses issues such as the potential, values, interests and threats of Australia; strategic dimension of Australia's security and defence policy; Australia's cooperation with the United States in the context of the rise of China; and Australia's attitude towards China's assertive actions in the Asia- Pacifi c. The aim of the article is to analyse and evaluate Australia's security and defence policy towards the growing power of China. The main research problem is included in the question of whether Australia adequately and suffi ciently responds to the increasing military potential of the Middle Kingdom. The thesis of the article assumes that while the directions of Australian policy are justifi ed, its scale is insuffi cient. The most important elements in securing interests in the context of China's growing power is increasing its own defence capabilities and deepening multi-faceted cooperation with allies and partners of the Pacifi c region. This must be accompanied by caring for the correctness of relations with China and efforts to reduce tensions between the People's Republic of China and the United States. The article is based on the theory of structural realism of the defensive type. The article uses the method of source text analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]