Tuesday marks the 75th anniversary of the ANZUS treaty, which was signed by the three countries to provide security in the Pacific.
But fresh analysis by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute calls for the alliance to be bolstered to allow for more credible collective deterrence in the region.
"At 75, the Australia-US alliance remains fundamental to Australia's security, but the machinery supporting it needs to evolve for a more dangerous and unpredictable era," the think-tank's report said.
"ANZUS has endured because it gives governments flexibility to adapt as strategic circumstances change.
"The task now is to use that flexibility to better organise an increasingly integrated alliance for a more contested security environment, with collective deterrence and defence at its core."
The mutual defence treaty was signed in 1951 to help counter growing security fears among the signatories over the fate of the Indo-Pacific as communism spread through the region.
It has only been formally invoked once, when then-prime minister John Howard triggered the pact following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US in 2001.
Australia and the US have since strengthened their security ties with the signing of the AUKUS agreement, which also involves the UK.
The $368 billion security pact will pave the way for Australia to receive nuclear submarines and eventually build its own versions of the vessels.
Defence Minister Richard Marles is set to travel to Washington in the coming week for talks with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth on defence issues and the AUKUS program.
"AUKUS is full steam ahead and, alongside the US and UK, we're taking the next steps towards delivering this historic endeavour," he said.
"On the 75th anniversary of the ANZUS treaty, we celebrate the enduring foundation of trust, cooperation and shared purpose that underpins our alliance today."
The institute's report said Australia and the US needed to develop defence guidelines under ANZUS to help modernise the alliance.
They would help provide a framework for dealing with security challenges in the broader Pacific region.
"Greater institutionalisation of the Australia-US alliance could itself strengthen deterrence," the report said.
"Defence guidelines are already an established feature of other US Indo-Pacific alliances."
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