Prime Minister Scott Morrison has remembered "a great victory that changed the course of our history" on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
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Dignitaries from across the nation gathered in Canberra on Saturday to commemorate Victory in the Pacific.
"A country of seven million united and became one in a mighty national effort to defend human civilisation from the bullies who sought to destroy it," Mr Morrison said.
"Everyone played their part. Australia wasn't alone. We stood with allies and friends.
"This was a global fight - all understood that if tyranny was not confronted together, eventually it would be confronted alone."
Almost one million Australians served in World War II including 39,000 who died and another 30,000 taken prisoner.
About 12,000 are still alive.
The prime minister highlighted the Dutch, New Zealand and the US.
"Today we call to mind all who stood with us - and who we stood with," he said.
Among those remembered was Teddy Sheean, a sailor in World War II, who was this week approved by the Queen to receive a posthumous Victoria Cross, Australia's highest military honour.
The teenage seaman died in 1942 when the HMAS Armidale was sunk by Japanese bombers in the Timor Sea.
The 18-year-old strapped himself to an anti-aircraft gun and fired at enemy planes as the ship went down.
He is credited with saving the lives of 49 crew.
Australian Associated Press
