Australia wins UN Security Council seat

Australia has won its bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr attended a meeting in New York overnight for a secret ballot of the UN's 193 members.

Rwanda and Argentina have also won seats on the Security Council.

Australia, which needed at least 129 votes and was relying heavily on African, Caribbean and Pacific Island nations for support, received 140 votes.

Australia's Western Europe and Other Group competitors Luxembourg registered 128 and Finland 108.

It is the fifth time Australia will serve on the Security Council, the two-year tenure commencing at the start of 2013.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has congratulated Australia today.

"New Zealand looks forward to working closely with Australia during its two-year tenure on the Security Council," he said.

"New Zealand's bid for a seat in the 2015-16 term is in good shape, and we will continue to campaign energetically."

- AAP and nzherald.co.nz