Prime Minister Tony Abbott has committed Australia to a role in the conflict against the Islamic State, saying the military will transport arms to Kurdish fighters battling the jihadist extremists.
So far the Western intervention in the conflict will be limited to Iraq.
Mr Abbott said the situation in Iraq was a "humanitarian catastrophe" and a "security nightmare" for the world.
The airlifts will be made by an Air Force C-130 Hercules and a C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
The first plane will fly from the Al Minhad Air Base near Dubai to Erbil in northern Iraq, delivering weapons to Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State militants.
The weapons will be small arms coming from Eastern Europe, not Australia.
The RAAF planes will land so troops can make sure the weapons don't end up in the wrong hands.
“They won’t be airdropped, we’ll be landing and handing them over to officials, chief of defence Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin said.
Meanwhile the Islamic State has been hit with more US airstrikes, clearing the way for Australian, British and French aircraft to drop food and water to Amirli, a city in Iraq's north that is surrounded by Islamic State forces.
Labor believes military action in 2003 was a mistake but says this time it's different.
“Australia’s men and women are going in harms way, but this is for the best of reasons,” opposition leader Bill Shorten said.
The Greens and independent MP Andrew Wilkie want a parliamentary debate demanding Mr Abbott explain exactly what he is prepared to do.
“If we’re going to start, where it is going to end?” Greens leader Christine Milne said.
“We still have this insane situation where a prime minister unilaterally can make decisions of war and peace,” Mr Wilkie said.
Echoing President Barack Obama, Mr Abbott has declared there's no role envisaged for troops on the ground.
But maintained “it is important to do what reasonably can be done to avert potential genocide”.
The Prime Minister stresses that even though the emergency is in the Middle East, it threatens Australia too.
He is not ruling out further military action but says no request has been made.
