Australia is working with its global allies and keeping an eye on Russia following extraordinary scenes involving a mercenary group crucial to its war against Ukraine.
"Australia is closely monitoring developments in Russia," Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said on Sunday.
"The security situation is evolving and we are working closely with partners."
Senator Wong also said Australians in Russia should leave immediately because the security situation could deteriorate further.
Australia's travel advice for Russia is "do not travel" and the government has warned its ability to provide consular help in the country is limited and it won't be able to facilitate evacuations.
Late on Saturday, the heavily armed Russian mercenaries who were on their way to Moscow after threatening President Vladimir Putin and his top defence brass began turning back.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men were within 200km of the capital.
Earlier, the Wagner fighters captured the city of Rostov, where Russian generals are overseeing the war against Ukraine and important military assets are based.
It follows a complex dispute between Mr Prigozhin, the Russian army and Mr Putin in which Mr Prigozhin first accused the army of killing thousands of his fighters in an airstrike.
He then announced a "march for justice" to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war with Ukraine after Russia invaded last year and threatened Mr Putin's leadership.
The day before, the Kremlin announced Russia's FSB security service had opened a criminal case against Mr Prigozhin and called on Wagner forces to ignore his orders and arrest him.
But overnight, Belarus intervened and brokered a deal, with Mr Putin's approval, to halt the further movement of Wagner troops on Moscow in return for guarantees of their safety.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Prigozhin would move to Belarus under the deal, but the situation remains unstable and is being closely watched by the US, France, Germany and Britain and their allies.
with Reuters
