Every two years the RCI holds a 5-day long World Congress in Italy. Here, comrades and delegates from over 40 countries attend to share updates and perspectives from their corner of the world and learn from others. 2025 is the first year that we had an Australian delegate attend- a significant moment for us as a growing group of the RCI. This has been an important few months for our group, with the release of our first issue of The Communist on 8th August. Copies of the paper were divided up and sent to our comrades in Australia with branches being formed in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The World Congress is a staunch reminder that we are part of a single, international movement and has heavily inspired our work in Australia.
One of the main highlights was a discussion on the world situation today, particularly focused on the character of China and the nature of the Trump regime. China and the US are the two main imperialist powers in the world today, with the US still occupying the dominant spot despite its relative decline in recent years. This means that a thorough analysis of the rivalry between these powers is vital to our understanding of the world situation in general, and the situation in Australia in particular. The full political analysis took the form of a new document: The world turned upside down – a system in crisis, which can be read on marxist.com, the international website of the RCI.
Concluding the Congress was a unanimous vote for the RCI in Ireland to become an official section of our International. The Irish comrades have had great success in the recent period, with 60+ members at the time of the World Congress, they have now already grown to over 80. Undoubtedly the RCI in Australia will be catching up with them soon enough!
The World Congress also took place in the midst of our international campaign for the release of leading members of the Awami Action Committee, who have been fighting for the democratic and economic demands of the poor and oppressed in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The AAC leaders, some of whom are comrades of the RCI in Pakistan, suffered imprisonment and brutal torture at the hands of the Pakistani state. Thankfully, shortly after the end of the World Congress, our campaign was successful and all the arrested leaders of the AAC were released! Whilst we celebrate the release of our comrades Ehsan Ali, Ashgar Shah and Waheed Hasan, we are reminded that many who fight for the liberation of the oppressed around the world are consistently threatened with repression and worse, at the hands of the ruling class. We will always stand by our comrades and do so loudly and without fear.
As of two years ago the RCI’s global membership number was ~4000 members. As of 2025 it is now ~8000 members. It is undoubtedly clear that as the crisis of capitalism progresses more and more people have ascertained that a communist revolution is unquestionably the soundest course for the future of humanity. On the topic of growth, in August 2025 the Australian group of the RCI had 12-15 members. Three months later, we are now 20+ members strong. While we are still a new, small group, we are growing rapidly and are building the foundations for a developed section of the RCI in the near future.
As readers are aware, issues such as inflation and the housing crisis have become prominent topics for a majority of Australians. Whilst the supposedly “left-wing” government capitulates on the issue of climate change, the Australian working class are directly confronted by the consequences of this: coral bleaching, mass death of not just marine life but also land life, and the raging, unchecked wildfires that threaten vast swathes of the country. All of this, and more, is leading a growing layer to reach revolutionary conclusions.
Whilst the world falls deeper into turmoil due to the crisis of capitalism, it is with great pride that we see the growth of our International each year, as more and more of the working class and the youth realise the need for communism. It is clear that our task here in Australia is to continue building the foundations of our group. We have a world to win, and nothing to lose but our chains!