Now lawDemocracy & Government Introduced in the House of Representatives, 01 Jul 2026

Foreign deals by states now face national test

The Foreign Minister can block deals that states, councils and universities make overseas. This law changes how that works. It cuts paperwork for low-risk deals and gives the minister power to set conditions. It also brings in campuses that Australian universities run overseas.

Official name: Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Bill 2026

Who it affects

• State and territory governments: Their deals with foreign governments can be approved with conditions. They must report deals that end early.
• Local councils: They now tell the minister about low-risk foreign deals once, after signing.
• Public universities: Their overseas campuses are covered after 6 months to get ready. Small changes to approved deals need less paperwork.
• Other federal agencies: They can now get facts the Foreign Affairs department collects about these deals.

States sign overseas deals too

Only the federal government can sign treaties with other countries. A treaty is a formal deal between countries. But states, territories, councils and universities also make deals with foreign governments and universities. In 2018, Victoria signed a deal with China about China's Belt and Road plan. That is China's plan to build roads, ports and trade links around the world. That sparked a lot of public debate.

In 2020 Parliament passed a law about these deals. States, councils and public universities must tell the Foreign Minister about some foreign deals. The minister can block, change or cancel deals that clash with Australia's foreign policy. Foreign policy is how Australia deals with other countries.

Some deals are between a state and a foreign national government. These are called core deals. They need the minister's okay before talks start, and again before signing. Other deals are non-core. They must be reported but do not need the minister's okay.

By 30 November 2024, 18,445 deals had been reported. About 84 per cent of the deals the law covered came from universities. In the first year the minister cancelled four Victorian deals. Two were about the Belt and Road plan, one was with Syria and one was with Iran.

In 2024 the government asked Rosemary Huxtable to lead an independent review of how the system worked. Her report went to Parliament in September 2025. This law puts most of her advice in place. It also adds some extra powers.

A wider national interest test

Until now, the minister asked one question. Would a deal harm Australia's ties with other countries, or clash with foreign policy? This law changes the test. Now the minister asks about the national interest. That means what is best for Australia as a whole.

The national interest includes keeping the country safe and keeping the economy secure, as well as foreign policy. So the minister can now think about more kinds of risk when approving or cancelling a deal.

Sharing information across government

Facts sent to the minister about these deals can now be shared inside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They can also go to other federal agencies to help them do their jobs. This includes new facts worked out by studying the reports. It covers facts collected before the law started too.

Less paperwork for low-risk deals

Several changes cut red tape. Non-core deals now need only one notice, after they are signed. Councils and universities no longer have to report a plan to sign first.

If the minister already approved a core deal, small changes no longer need a fresh okay. The state or group still has to tell the minister.

The minister can make rules that treat some low-risk deals or groups as non-core. The minister can also ask to be told about deals that are normally left out, within 14 days.

Say a state health department has an approved deal with a foreign government. It wants to change when meetings happen. That small change would no longer need the minister's okay.

Foreign universities and independence

Deals with foreign universities are only covered if the university is not free to run itself. That means a foreign government controls it.

Before, officials checked each university's own founding papers. These could be hard to find and translate. Now the test can be done country by country.

It asks if a foreign government can really control how its universities are run. It also asks if it controls what they teach or study. The effect of laws such as censorship can be counted. Censorship means a government blocking what people can say or read.

Conditions, deadlines and fixes

The minister can now approve a deal with conditions. The minister can also add conditions at any time while a deal is running. But the minister cannot use a condition to rewrite the words of the deal.

If a condition is broken, the minister can take back the approval. The minister can also ask a court to order that the condition be followed.

If a state signs a core deal without the minister's okay, the deal is cancelled straight away. The minister can now undo that, if the deal passes the national interest test. This helps when a deal was missed by mistake.

The minister normally has 30 days to decide on a core deal. The minister can now take up to 30 more days for hard cases.

Overseas campuses now covered

Some Australian universities run campuses overseas. In law, these are separate bodies. Until now they were left out of the system.

Now a deal made by an overseas campus counts as a deal by the Australian university. The university must report it. It must take fair steps to make the campus follow the minister's decisions.

This applies to campuses that only give degrees from the Australian university. Universities get 6 months to get ready.

Register, ending deals, reviews

There is a public list of deals. It will mainly show deals that are running, and the minister's key decisions. The minister can hold back all details of a deal if sharing any part would cause harm. Facts that are already public can usually be shared.

States and others must now tell the minister when a deal ends early. They must also report current deals with certain named bodies, such as universities in Russia and Belarus.

The law must be reviewed every 5 years.

Advice from ASIO

The domestic spy agency can give the minister advice on these deals. The domestic spy agency is the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, known as ASIO. Normally, a formal security check by the spy agency comes with rights. The person affected is told about it. They can also challenge it at the Administrative Review Tribunal, a body that reviews government decisions.

This law says choices about these deals do not set off that process. The spy agency's advice will not need to be a formal security check.

The government gives a reason. It says nobody can ask for the minister's own choices to be remade on the facts. So it says the spy agency's advice should be the same. People can still go to the Federal Court, a national court, or the High Court, Australia's top court.

Start date

The government brought the bill to the House of Representatives on 1 July 2026. That is the house of Parliament where the government is formed. Foreign Minister Penny Wong is in charge of it. The House passed it on 19 August 2026.

The Senate, Parliament's second house, passed it on 20 August 2026 with one government change. The House agreed to the change that day. The papers used here describe the bill as first brought in.

The Governor-General, the King's representative, signed it into law on 26 August 2026. Its official number is Act No. 80 of 2026. The main changes start on a date the government sets, or 6 months after signing at the latest.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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