Aust to vote against nuclear ban treaty

Australia will vote against a UN resolution to start talks on a global nuclear weapons ban.

The foreign affairs department has confirmed Australia will not support a UN resolution to start talks on a binding nuclear weapons ban.

The move, which 39 countries have sponsored, will be voted on at the United Nations next week or in early November.

Department officials told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday it would be counterproductive to have a treaty that did not include nations with nuclear weapons.