Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reaffirmed Australia's partnership with India despite the nation not yet condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Morrison says he doesn't draw any equivalence between India and China, which has not joined western nations in sanctioning Russia.
He said during a meeting on Thursday night with leaders of Quad nations - Australia, India, the US and Japan - concerns were raised about the 16,000 Indian students stuck in Ukraine who are trying to get out.
"I think we've got to work patiently with our partners ... India is seeking to ensure this violence ends and they have some very real concerns right now," he told Perth radio station 6PR.
"We don't want to see the world throw Russia a lifeline and India is certainly not doing that. They're not easing their wheat trade restrictions on Russia, but China is."
He also said Russian president Vladimir Putin has "self-nominated" his country as a pariah state to be treated like North Korea.
"(Russia's) ruble has fallen, their interest rates have risen, their central bank has been cut off, this is having a very damaging impact on their economy," he said.
"Autocratic regimes don't play by the same rules as liberal democracies and those who support an international order based on the rule of law."
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised fears in many circles that China could take similar action in relation to Taiwan.
But the prime minister said the two issues shouldn't be conflated.
"There's a very clear understanding of what the implications would be if China were to seek to realise its ambitions for Taiwan ... we need to take the right lessons out of what's occurring in Ukraine," he said.
The leaders of Quad nations committed to peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We cannot allow what is happening in Ukraine now to ever happen in the Indo-Pacific," Mr Morrison said in a statement.
"We are resolute in our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region where smaller states do not need to live in fear of more powerful ones."
The prime minister said the four nations support a region where the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states is respected, and coercion is not tolerated.
Australia is taking action on a range of fronts, from providing weapons and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, to supporting resolutions in the United Nations and backing International Criminal Court action.
The government has also told superannuation funds it has a "strong expectation" they would review their investment portfolios and divest any holdings of Russian assets.
