WELLINGTON — The Australian Rugby Union said Wednesday that it would start an “inclusion policy” to stamp out homophobia throughout rugby in Australia. The move came less than two weeks after Russian officials had to defend legislation that has been criticized as anti-gay when Moscow hosted the world track and field championships.

The A.R.U. governs both the amateur and professional games in Australia, and rugby union will become the first sport in that country to specifically create an anti-homophobia policy. And in doing so, rugby union will become one of the highest-profile team sports in the world to tackle the issue.

The new code will be separate from the existing anti-discrimination guidelines that the union already has, and it is likely to include anti-homophobia programs for young players, along with high-profile players taking a leading role in public awareness campaigns.

The announcement by the A.R.U. was timed to coincide with the one-year countdown to the 2014 Bingham Cup, known as the gay Rugby World Cup, which will be held in Sydney next August.