Australia's recent treatment of asylum seekers could cruel its bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, the nation's top rights watchdog warns.
But Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs concedes Australia does have a long history of leading on human rights issues.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop launched Australia's first bid to join the 47 members of the council for a 2018-20 term while she was in New York for the UN's General Assembly.
Australia would use the role to promote the empowering of women and girls, strengthening governance and democratic institutions, promoting freedom of expression and advance the human rights of all, she told the assembly.
Ms Bishop also promised Australia would be unrelenting in efforts to abolish the death penalty globally.
Professor Triggs said Australia should be proud of its decades-long record on rights.
"But there is no doubt that the last few years, we are in egregious breach of human rights law with regards to asylum seeker policies," she told ABC TV on Wednesday.
"But so too are other countries in other aspects of their human rights records."
There would always be an element of tit for tat in these arguments, Prof Triggs said.
"The question is going to be where are the votes going to go at the Human Rights Council, will they say Australia shouldn't be a part of that council in the current context?" she said.
"That would be disappointing and a mistake but it is a risk."
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said Australia would have to get moving quickly on the bid.
"We'll have to really get our skates on to be successful there, given that we are moving in a direction that the international community is concerned about in a number of areas," she told reporters in Sydney, citing aid cuts and climate change as well as the treatment of asylum seekers.
Current council members include Saudi Arabia, China, Congo and Russia.
Ms Plibersek noted there had been debate for some time about whether the human rights council did as good a job as it could.
But because of Australia's strong reputation, its presence would help improve the situation in other countries, she said.
