The Visiting Professorship in Australian Studies was established by a gift from the Australian Government to Harvard in 1976, in commemoration of America's Bicentennial, "in order to maintain such teaching, research and publication as will help to promote awareness and understanding of Australia in the United States of America."

Since that time, Harvard has invited distinguished visiting scholars, on an annual basis, to hold the Chair in Australian Studies at Harvard. The holder of the Chair presents courses and seminars on topics related to Australia and its culture.

In addition, the Committee for Australian Studies also funds conferences, exhibitions, readings, and other academic and artistic events which have a connection to Australia. The Committee also funds a small number of scholarships to support research at the honors and doctoral level by Harvard students.