Australia-China Joint Research Center on River Basin Management, one of the six joint research centers between China and Australia, was inaugurated by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2013.

The center, headed by Wang Hao, an Academician of Engineering from IWHR, was sponsored by the China-Australia Fund for Science and Research, which has been set up to strengthen the bilateral cooperation between China and Australia in technical innovation and industrialization. Other Chinese partners of this center include Cold and Arid Region Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Agricultural University, Yellow River Investigation Planning and Designing Corporation, while the Australian partners include University of Melbourne, University of Melbourne, Murray Darling Basin Authority, Rubicon Company, and National Information and Communication Technology Australia.

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Eileen Gillard unveiling the center