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Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment

Current status

This bill became law on Aug 26th, 2026.

Policy area

Defence & foreign affairs

What does this bill do?

State and territory bodies will have foreign deals judged against Australia’s wider national interestAustralia’s security, economic and foreign-policy interests., including security, economic and foreign-policy concerns.

Why was it introduced?

The government said the Foreign Arrangements SchemeThe system overseeing public bodies’ foreign deals. — the system overseeing foreign deals made by Australian public bodies — had received more than 22,000 notifications since 2020. It had also blocked two arrangements with Russian and Belarusian bodies. A review led by Rosemary Huxtable found the scheme was working but should focus more closely on higher risks and create less paperwork for lower-risk deals.

Broader context

Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 created a national scheme for reviewing foreign arrangements made by states, territories, councils and universities, after concerns that some agreements could conflict with Australia’s interests. A 2025 independent review found the scheme needed clearer decisions and less burden for lower-risk arrangements, prompting this bill to refocus decisions on the national interestAustralia’s security, economic and foreign-policy interests., strengthen conditions and information sharing, cover overseas university campuses, and streamline approvals before Parliament passed it and Royal Assent made it law in August 2026.

Key criticism

Ted O’Brien (Liberal) argued that the bill still missed direct collaborations between Australian university researchers and foreign researchers when the university was not formally involved. He said similar research and sensitive technology could escape government oversight merely because an individual researcher signed the deal. He wanted universities to notify the government about significant collaborations of this kind.

Who supported it?

Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP introduced this bill. It passed with support from Labor, One Nation, some crossbench members; opposed by Greens.

Introduced in House 01 July 2026
Passed House 19 Aug 2026
Passed Senate 20 Aug 2026 Aye 30 No 9
Became law 26 Aug 2026

Did it become law?

Yes

Became law 26 Aug 2026

Final passage

Recorded final vote

1 counted final-passage vote was recorded.

Passage speed

56 days

From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step

Official record

View on APH

Parliament of Australia bill page

Meaning

What does this bill do?

  1. State and territory bodies will have foreign deals judged against Australia’s wider national interestAustralia’s security, economic and foreign-policy interests., including security, economic and foreign-policy concerns.

  2. State and territory bodies may receive approval with conditions, instead of the minister simply approving or rejecting a foreign deal.

  3. Australian government agencies can receive information reported through the scheme when it helps them perform their official work.

  4. Australian universities become responsible for foreign deals made through their overseas campuses after a six-month transition.

  5. State, territory and local bodies entering lower-risk foreign deals need to notify the minister once, within 14 days after signing.

  6. Public universities must identify joint projects with foreign researchers, check risks to Australia’s interests and maintain ways to manage those risks.

  7. State and territory governments may wait up to 60 days for decisions on higher-risk foreign deals, up from the standard 30 days.

Show source excerpts
  1. 1 Paragraph 5(1)(a) Omit “foreign relations”, substitute “national interest”. 2 Paragraphs 17(2)(a) and 24(2)(a) Omit “foreign relations”, substitute “national interest”. 3 Subparagraphs 35(1)(c)(i), (d)(i) and 36(1)(c)(i) Omit “foreign relations”, substitute “national interest”. 4 Subparagraphs 40(1)(a)(i) and 45(1)(b)(i) Omit “foreign relations”, substitute “national interest”.
    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Act 2026
  2. 58 Subsection 17(4) Repeal the subsection, substitute: (3A) The Minister may impose conditions on an approval decision under subsection (2), and the core State/Territory entity must comply with those conditions. (3B) The Minister may vary or revoke a condition imposed under subsection (3A). Revocation of approval decision (4) The Minister may revoke an approval decision under subsection (2) if the Minister: (a) ceases to be satisfied of the matters on which the decision was made; or (b) is satisfied that the core State/Territory entity has failed to comply with any condition imposed und
    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Act 2026
  3. relevant information means information: (a) notified to the Minister under this Act; or (b) generated from information notified to the Minister under this Act. 6 After Division 3 of Part 5 52A Disclosure of information within the Department An entrusted person may disclose relevant information to an APS employee in the Department (the recipient) if the disclosure is for the purposes of assisting the recipient to perform functions or duties for the Department that relate to Australia’s national interest or Australia’s foreign policy. 52B Disclosure of information to a Commonwealth entity
    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Act 2026
  4. 7A Application of this Act to overseas university campuses (1) For the purposes of this Act, conduct engaged in by an overseas campus of an Australian university is taken to be conduct engaged in by the Australian university. (2) A foreign arrangement between an overseas campus of the Australian university and a foreign entity is taken to be an arrangement between the Australian university and the foreign entity. (3) The Australian university must: (a) comply with obligations under this Act that would apply to the overseas campus of the Australian university if the overseas campus were a S
    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Act 2026
  5. Part 11—One-step notification for non-core foreign arrangements Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 Item 37 Subdivision A of Division 2 of Part 3 Item 37 would repeal existing Subdivision A of Division 2 of Part 3 of the Foreign Relations Act which establishes the requirement for State/Territory entities to notify the Minister about proposals to enter into non-core arrangements. Removing the requirement for non-core foreign arrangements to be notified prior to entry would alleviate the administrative burden on the regulated community and streamline the
    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment explanatory memorandum
  6. 95 After Division 6 of Part 5 55A Requirement in relation to foreign research projects (1) An Australian university must maintain policies and procedures for: (a) identifying research projects conducted by researchers employed or engaged by the Australian university with researchers employed or engaged by foreign entities; and (b) assessing whether such research projects: (i) adversely affect, or are likely to adversely affect, Australia’s national interest; or (ii) are, or are likely to be, inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy; and (c) managing risks identified through those as
    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Act 2026
  7. 28 Subsection 17(1) (note) After “being given the notice,”, insert “or, if the period is extended by the Minister for a further period of up to 30 days, within that extended period,”. 29 Paragraph 21(1)(b) Omit all the words after “subsection 17(2) or (3)”, substitute: (i) the 30‑day period that starts on the day the notice is given; or (ii) if the Minister extends that period under subsection (1A)—the extended period. 30 After subsection 21(1) (1A) The Minister may, before the end of the 30‑day period referred to in subparagraph (1)(b)(i), extend that period once for a further period (
    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Act 2026

Context

Broader context for this bill

Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 created a national scheme for reviewing foreign arrangements made by states, territories, councils and universities, after concerns that some agreements could conflict with Australia’s interests. A 2025 independent review found the scheme needed clearer decisions and less burden for lower-risk arrangements, prompting this bill to refocus decisions on the national interestAustralia’s security, economic and foreign-policy interests., strengthen conditions and information sharing, cover overseas university campuses, and streamline approvals before Parliament passed it and Royal Assent made it law in August 2026.

  1. 08 Dec 2020

    Parliament passes the original foreign relations laws

    The laws gave the Foreign Minister power to review and cancel agreements made by states, territories, local councils and universities with foreign governments.

    ABC News ↗
  2. 2025

    Independent review calls for clearer, lighter regulation

    The 2025 Independent Review of the Foreign Arrangements SchemeThe system overseeing public bodies’ foreign deals. identified the need for clearer decisions and less unnecessary burden, particularly for lower-risk arrangements.

    Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment explanatory memorandum ↗
  3. 01 July 2026

    Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP introduces the amendment bill

    He said the bill would update the scheme so beneficial international engagement could continue while risks to Australia’s foreign policy and national interests were managed.

    Hansard ↗
  4. 19 Aug 2026

    House passes the bill

    The House agreed to the bill at third reading, completing its passage through the originating chamber.

    Parliamentary timeline ↗
  5. 20 Aug 2026

    Parliament passes the bill

    The House agreed to the Senate amendment and both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.

    Parliamentary timeline ↗
  6. 26 Aug 2026

    Royal Assent makes the amendments law

    The Governor-General gave Royal Assent, turning the bill into an Act.

    Parliamentary timeline ↗

Legislative route

How did it move through Parliament?

House Senate
Introduced 01 July 2026

The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.

Introduced and read a first time

Second reading opened 01 July 2026

A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.

Second reading moved

Intelligence and Security review 06 July 2026

Referred to Committee (06/07/2026): Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security; Committee report (20/08/2026)

Report tabled 20 Aug 2026

APH bill page notes
Second reading debate 19 Aug 2026

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Sent to Federation Chamber for debate 19 Aug 2026

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Referred to Federation Chamber

Federation Chamber debate 19 Aug 2026

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Second reading debate

House second reading agreed 19 Aug 2026

The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.

Second reading agreed to

Consideration in detail 19 Aug 2026

The chamber considered the bill in detail and dealt with amendments before the next stage.

Consideration in detail debate

House third reading agreed 19 Aug 2026

The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber. Later message exchanges with the other chamber were still recorded afterwards.

Third reading agreed to

Introduced 20 Aug 2026

The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.

Introduced and read a first time

Second reading opened 20 Aug 2026

A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.

Second reading moved

Senate second reading agreed 20 Aug 2026

The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.

Second reading agreed to

Senate agreed to amendments Aye 30 No 9 20 Aug 2026

Recorded vote: 30 to 9.

The chamber considered amendments before the bill moved to the next stage.

Third reading agreed to :

Consideration of Senate message 20 Aug 2026

The House dealt with Senate amendments or requests so both chambers could settle the bill in the same form. The main accepted Senate changes reflected in the final bill were: The introduced and as-passed bill texts differ in 2 observed text blocks. Observed text changed from "Part 15—Conditions 29 Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 29 Part 16—Overseas cam…" to "Part 15—Conditions 28 Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 28 Part 16—Overseas cam…".

Passed both houses 20 Aug 2026

Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.

Finally passed both Houses

Assent 26 Aug 2026

The Governor-General gave Royal Assent, turning the bill into an Act.

Key criticism

The main case against this bill

Ted O’Brien (Liberal) argued that the bill still missed direct collaborations between Australian university researchers and foreign researchers when the university was not formally involved. He said similar research and sensitive technology could escape government oversight merely because an individual researcher signed the deal. He wanted universities to notify the government about significant collaborations of this kind.

O’Brien said the Coalition supported the bill’s broader reforms and less paperwork for routine, low-risk deals. His proposed notification model was not adopted. The final bill instead requires public universities to identify foreign research projects, check their risks and manage any risks found.

Research collaboration gap

Significant collaborations between individual university researchers and foreign counterparts might avoid notification, potentially preventing Commonwealth scrutiny of national security risks.

Raised by Coalition speakers Sam Birrell and Ted O’Brien Source ↗

Further sources

parlinfo.aph.gov.au ↗ legislation.gov.au ↗

Votes

Recorded votes

How the bill itself passed

The chamber-passage votes come first. Expand a vote to see the party breakdown.

Passed

House passed the bill

House agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.

19 Aug 2026

Passed on the voices

In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.

Carried

Senate passed the bill

Aye 30 No 9

Passed 30 to 9. Support came from Labor, One Nation, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Greens.

20 Aug 2026

Party Recorded votes Aye / No
Labor 26 / 0
Greens 0 / 9
One Nation 3 / 0
Independent 1 / 0

Earlier bill-stage votes

Defeated

Expand oversight of researcher collaborations

Aye 38 No 80

Defeated 38 to 80. Support came from Liberal, Nationals, Community Strong Australia, and Centre Alliance. Opposition came from Labor and Greens. Minor-party and independent votes were split.

19 Aug 2026

Party Recorded votes Aye / No
Labor 0 / 78
Liberal 19 / 0
Nationals 11 / 0
Independent 4 / 1
Community Strong Australia 2 / 0
Greens 0 / 1
Centre Alliance 1 / 0
One Nation 1 / 0

Amendments at a glance

Recorded amendment and procedural votes grouped by chamber. Expand a vote to see the party breakdown.

Senate

Carried

Require universities to manage foreign research risks

Aye 30 No 9

Passed 30 to 9. Support came from Labor, One Nation, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Greens.

20 Aug 2026

The proposed change was agreed.

Party Recorded votes Aye / No
Labor 26 / 0
Greens 0 / 9
One Nation 3 / 0
Independent 1 / 0

This list includes amendment votes, procedural votes and votes on the bill itself.

The parliamentary record also shows 1 Government amendment agreed without a counted division.

Parliamentary debate

Who spoke, and what they said

Start here — lead voices

Sponsor speech Supports

Matt Thistlethwaite

Australian Labor Party • MP 01 July 2026

Thistlethwaite supports the bill, arguing that it will strengthen national-interest safeguards and risk management while simplifying compliance and reducing the burden for lower-risk foreign arrangements.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead supporting voice Supports

Ted O'Brien

Liberal Party • MP 19 Aug 2026

O'Brien says the coalition will support the bill because it sensibly streamlines the foreign arrangements schemeThe system overseeing public bodies’ foreign deals., but will seek an amendment requiring universities to notify the Commonwealth of significant researcher-to-researcher collaborations that may pose national security risks.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead voice Supports

Ash Ambihaipahar

Australian Labor Party • MP 19 Aug 2026

Ambihaipahar supports the bill because it modernises oversight of foreign arrangements, strengthens safeguards for higher-risk dealings and reduces unnecessary burdens for lower-risk international engagement.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead voice Supports

Luke Gosling

Australian Labor Party • MP 19 Aug 2026

Gosling supports the bill because it focuses scrutiny on higher-risk foreign arrangements while reducing unnecessary burdens on routine international partnerships and strengthening consideration of Australia's national interestAustralia’s security, economic and foreign-policy interests..

Read in Hansard ↗

All speeches by bloc

Labor

5 speakers · 6 contributions · 5 support

  1. Ash Ambihaipahar ★ Ambihaipahar supports the bill because it modernises oversight of foreign arrangements, strengthens safeguards for higher-risk dealings and reduces unnecessary burdens for lower-risk international engagement.
    “This bill strikes that balance and it keeps Australia open to international engagement while ensuring that the engagement is consistent with our national interest. It strengthens the safeguards where the risks are real while removing unnecessary barriers where the risks are low. It ensures that, as the international environment becomes more complex, Australia's framework for foreign arrangements remains fit for purpose. For those reasons, I support this bill.”

    Australian Labor Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  2. Luke Gosling ★ Gosling supports the bill because it focuses scrutiny on higher-risk foreign arrangements while reducing unnecessary burdens on routine international partnerships and strengthening consideration of Australia's national interestAustralia’s security, economic and foreign-policy interests..
    “I rise to speak in support of the Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Bill 2026. This bill updates a piece of legislation that has, in six years of quiet operation, become one of the more consequential tools Australia has for regulating Australia's engagement with the world. The Foreign Arrangements Scheme does not make headlines the way a trade deal or a defence pact does. It covers a broad range of relations and how Australia interacts globally. It sits underneath almost everything this country does internationally below the level of this parliament. That includes every friendship agreement a state government signs, every research partnership a public university enters and every sister city arrangement a local council strikes—and where I'm from, in Darwin, there are certainly many of those.”

    Australian Labor Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  3. Matt Smith Smith supports the bill, arguing that clearer guardrails and simpler rules will protect Australia's sovereignty while helping councils, universities and public institutions pursue beneficial international relationships with confidence.
    “People shouldn't be punished for that, because all they're trying to do is take what makes Australia great and show it to the rest of the world. I'm excited by what this bill means, and what it means is Australia being shown off. I think everybody in this House is excited by the prospect of this country being shown off. I know how proud every single member in here is because they wouldn't be here if they weren't. They've put their hand up, and they've said: 'This is my country. This is our country. We're damn proud of it, and we're going to show it to the rest of the world. We are going to take what makes Australia special and give that to everybody else.' I commend the bill to the House.”

    Australian Labor Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  4. Claire Clutterham Clutterham supports the bill, saying it strengthens national-interest and risk oversight of foreign arrangements while reducing unnecessary administrative burdens for low-risk arrangements.
    “This bill responds to the review's findings and implements a number of those recommendations that were made by Ms Huxtable. Drawing on those recommendations, this bill aims to increase the focus on Australia's national interests by improving risk management tools, and to reduce the administrative burden for low-risk arrangements. In the international engagement space the government needs to regulate, to facilitate and to proportionately manage risk, not regulate to paralyse. This bill strikes the balance in several ways. It strengthens the scheme by directly referring to and acknowledging the national interest, refocusing the act and ensuring the holistic consideration of decisions from different perspectives, including security, economic and foreign policy. It also introduces a disclosure framework to facilitate the sharing of information collected through notifications made under the foreign relations act to the Australian government and other prescribed entities, supporting coordinated whole-of-government decision-making. Importantly, the bill also extends the foreign relations act to include overseas campuses of Australian universities—which we know are becoming more common, particularly in the Middle East and Asia—with a clear and present opportunity for further expansion onto the African continent.”

    Australian Labor Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  5. Matt Thistlethwaite ★ 2 contributions Thistlethwaite supports the bill, arguing that it will strengthen national-interest safeguards and risk management while simplifying compliance and reducing the burden for lower-risk foreign arrangements.

    Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Matt Thistlethwaite on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.

    Minister's second reading speech Australian Labor Party • MP • 01 July 2026

    Thistlethwaite supports the bill, arguing that it will strengthen national-interest safeguards and risk management while simplifying compliance and reducing the burden for lower-risk foreign arrangements.

    “This bill responds to the review's findings, and this bill implements a number of those recommendations that were made by Ms Huxtable. Its amendments would strengthen the scheme's framework by sharpening the focus on Australia's national interest and enhancing the tools available to manage risk. The bill will streamline the scheme's operation by simplifying processes and reducing administrative burden, particularly for lower risk arrangements. Together, these reforms ensure that the scheme continues to support international engagement while protecting Australia's interests.”
    Read this contribution in Hansard ↗

    Second reading speech Australian Labor Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Thistlethwaite supports the bill, arguing that it will strengthen oversight of foreign arrangements, improve coordination and risk management, and reduce unnecessary regulation.

    “The reforms before the House are practical, measured and proportionate in the ways that they achieve their objectives. They strengthen the framework by ensuring decisions are guided by a broader conception of Australia's national interest, including national security, economic security, foreign policy and broader strategic considerations. The reforms provide more flexible tools for managing risk. They improve whole-of-government coordination through a carefully designed information-sharing framework and ensure that the scheme remains capable of responding to evolving forms of international engagement. At the same time, the bill reduces unnecessary regulation. These changes will make the scheme easier to navigate and administer whilst maintaining appropriate oversight. Importantly, the bill reflects the principle that regulatory effort should be directed where it is most needed. I commend the bill to the House.”
    Read this contribution in Hansard ↗

Coalition

3 speakers · 3 support

  1. Ted O'Brien ★ O'Brien says the coalition will support the bill because it sensibly streamlines the foreign arrangements schemeThe system overseeing public bodies’ foreign deals., but will seek an amendment requiring universities to notify the Commonwealth of significant researcher-to-researcher collaborations that may pose national security risks.
    “The coalition created the Foreign Arrangements Scheme because the Commonwealth needed greater visibility over foreign arrangements. That principle remains sound. We support streamlining this scheme, and we support strengthening it. It is for these reasons that the coalition will support this bill, but we will go one step further and ask the government to come with us. We will seek to strengthen the bill by expanding its scope to include researcher-to-researcher collaborations.”

    Liberal Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  2. Sam Birrell Birrell supports the bill because it strengthens Commonwealth oversight of foreign arrangements and applies a broader national interestAustralia’s security, economic and foreign-policy interests. test, while urging the government to adopt the coalition's amendment covering significant researcher-to-researcher collaboration.
    “To finalise my remarks and make it very clear—and I would hope most people in this place would understand and agree with this—constitutionally, the federal government has responsibility for foreign relations and significant arrangements with foreign nations. That needs to be the case. It needs to be embedded in law. This bill goes a long way towards doing that, and I commend it. I encourage the government to support the coalition's amendment, which will strengthen it even more.”

    National Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  3. Michael McCormack McCormack supports the bill because it better targets Commonwealth oversight of foreign arrangements while reducing unnecessary scrutiny of routine, low-risk dealings.
    “But this bill, Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Bill 2026, is a good piece of legislation in as much as our states need to know that, when it comes to foreign affairs, foreign relations, international treaties and the like, it is the Commonwealth, Canberra, the federal government that should and must have the most say so. Australia needs not many but a single coherent foreign policy, including when the territories and states, councils and public universities are engaging internationally, not just for Australia's sake but for their sake.”

    National Party • MP • 19 Aug 2026

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

Record

Full record

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