Most Australians are unaware their taxes are aiding a “murderous” Myanmar military regime, according to Amnesty International.

A poll conducted on behalf of the human rights group has found that 53 per cent of Australians are unaware of the “campaign of crimes against humanity” being waged against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya population.

“Even fewer know that Australia is helping to prop up the murderous regime perpetrating it,” Amnesty said.

Myanmar’s military regime has been accused of ethnic cleansing, with more than 700,000 Rohingya people fleeing to refugee camps in Bangladesh over the past year.

In 2017-18, Australia’s defence department planned to spend nearly $400,000 on aid to Myanmar’s military, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this year.

Australia is “the only Western democracy providing training and support to the Myanmar military”, putting it “out of step” with allies including the UK, the US and the EU, Amnesty said.

“The majority of Australians do not know their taxpayer dollars are supporting a regime perpetrating a deliberate, brutal campaign against hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” Amnesty crisis campaigner Diana Sayed said.

Once Australians became aware of the crisis, more than half disapproved of providing continued support to the Myanmar military, the poll found.

“Governments who continue to train Myanmar’s military are propping up a force that has been carrying out a vicious campaign of violence against the Rohingya that amounts to crimes against humanity,” Amnesty said.

“There is no evidence that backdoor diplomacy works with that regime.”

Last week the US State Department released a report detailing a “well-planned and coordinated” campaign of atrocities by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya – a Muslim minority in the majority Buddhist country.

Earlier this year, the United Nations called for Myanmar’s military leaders to be prosecuted for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Australian investigator Michael Stefanovic took part in the US State Department inquiry, and has called on the Morrison government to cut ties with the regime and demand a war crimes tribunal.

Mr Stefanovic told Fairfax Media that there was compelling evidence that genocide had occurred.

“There were mass killings, there were atrocities that were committed with a view to terrorising a population to force them out of the country and that all qualifies as genocide,” he said.

Foreign minister Marise Payne said the Australian government is “considering options” in response to the US report, “including targeted sanctions”.