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Australia has 18 free trade agreements (FTAs) with over 20 countries. These agreements facilitate stronger trade and commercial links between the countries involved. They cut tariffs when exporting between markets and may also reduce some non-tariff barriers to trade. Australia's first FTA was with New Zealand in 1983. The country's most recent FTA, with the United Kingdom, came into force on 31 May 2023. Australia also has FTAs with several groups of countries, including ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of countries Australia has FTAs with | 20+ |
| Number of FTAs | 18 |
| Examples of countries Australia has FTAs with | New Zealand, Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India, Chile, Canada, Mexico, Peru, United Kingdom |
| Examples of regional FTAs | ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand (AANZFTA), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) |
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What You'll Learn
Australia-New Zealand (ANZCERTA or CER)
Australia has 18 free trade agreements with over 20 countries. One of these is the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA or CER). ANZCERTA is a bilateral free trade agreement that came into effect on 1 January 1983. It was the first of Australia's bilateral agreements and is considered one of the world's most open and successful free trade agreements. The agreement has been recognised by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a model Free Trade Agreement.
ANZCERTA covers a wide range of trade issues, including all trans-Tasman trade in goods, agricultural products, and services. It eliminates tariffs and minimises trade barriers on all goods. The agreement also includes rules of origin and local content provisions. For example, goods are considered to originate from each country if there is a change in HS code headings at the specified level for each good or if they meet a minimum regional value content.
The Investment provisions of the Agreement forbid performance requirements that demand export quotas, domestic content quotas, technology transfer, or other non-tariff barriers as a condition of investment. It also includes national treatment and most-favoured nation treatment provisions, requiring investors from either country to be treated equally to domestic investors.
ANZCERTA was further complemented by the 2010 ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), which expanded the agreement to include eight countries: Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
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ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand (AANZFTA)
Australia has 18 free trade agreements (FTAs) with over 20 countries. The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) is one such agreement. It is a treaty between ASEAN member states (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Australia and New Zealand.
The AANZFTA entered into force on 1 January 2010 for eight countries: Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia followed in 2010, 2011, 2011 and 2012, respectively. The agreement delivers extensive tariff reduction and greater certainty for service suppliers and investors. It has eliminated tariffs on 96% of Australian exports to the more developed Southeast Asian markets. In 2022, ASEAN was Australia's second-largest trading partner, accounting for $178 billion in two-way trade.
The AANZFTA was updated in 2015 and again in 2023, with the Second Protocol to Amend the Agreement (known as the AANZFTA Upgrade) coming into force on 21 April 2025. The upgrade improves processes for traders to access the AANZFTA's existing tariff preferences and provides new market access commitments and regulatory certainty for service providers. It includes a new standalone government procurement chapter that will enshrine important, best-practice government procurement principles, and lays the groundwork for enhanced engagement with ASEAN and New Zealand. The upgraded AANZFTA will include a new, ASEAN-first Trade and Sustainable Development chapter, which will commit parties to enhanced cooperation on labour rights, women's economic empowerment, and environmental protection.
The AANZFTA is complemented by Australia's bilateral FTAs with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and New Zealand. Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam are also signatories of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Australia has 18 free trade agreements (FTAs) currently in force, with over 20 countries. These agreements are either bilateral, between Australia and one other country, or regional, involving Australia and a group of countries.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the world's largest free trade agreement, uniting 15 economies, including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Republic of Korea. It also includes members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
RCEP serves as a foundation for economic integration in the East Asia region, bringing together countries with diverse political systems. It underscores the importance of regional cooperation in an increasingly interconnected and disrupted world. RCEP has the potential to uplift 27 million additional people to middle-class status by 2035, and its effects are expected to grow incrementally over the next 10 to 15 years.
RCEP is not as comprehensive as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), another free trade agreement in the region that includes some of the same countries. RCEP does not establish unified standards on labour and the environment, nor does it commit countries to open services and other vulnerable areas of their economies.
However, simulations have shown that RCEP and CPTPP together would more than offset the global negative economic effects of the China-US trade war, with RCEP's incremental value increasing from $186 billion to $209 billion.
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Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA)
Australia has 18 free trade agreements with over 20 countries, and is seeking to negotiate and implement more. These agreements can be either bilateral, between Australia and one other country, or regional, involving Australia and a group of countries.
The Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) was signed on 17 December 2021 and entered into force on 31 May 2023. The agreement contains commercially significant commitments that create new export opportunities, reduce input costs for businesses, strengthen trade diversification, and help ease cost-of-living pressures for consumers. The agreement has eliminated tariffs on over 99% of Australian goods exports to the UK.
The A-UKFTA has benefited Australia's services companies and professionals by making it easier to operate in the UK market, supporting the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and providing greater certainty for skilled professionals entering the UK labour market. The agreement has also resulted in the Innovation and Early Careers Skills Exchange Pilot (IECSEP), which provides a new opportunity for UK citizens who are early in their careers or who have contributed to innovation to live and work in Australia.
In the agricultural sector, the agreement has been welcomed by the Australian National Farmers' Federation as an opportunity to increase Australian agricultural exports to the UK. However, some agricultural interests in the UK have criticised the deal, expressing concern that it might weaken British restrictions on pesticide use by permitting the import of Australian crops grown under less stringent standards.
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Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA)
Australia has 18 free trade agreements with over 20 countries. These agreements can be bilateral, between Australia and one other country, or regional, involving Australia and a group of countries. They facilitate stronger trade and commercial links between the countries involved.
The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA or ECTA) is a free trade agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Australia. It entered into force on 29 December 2022. The agreement gives Australian businesses a competitive advantage to access and expand into India, securing Australia's foothold in the world's fastest-growing large economy. It also helps secure access to the fast-growing Indian market of over 1.4 billion people and gives Australian businesses opportunities for trade diversification.
Under the agreement, over 85% of Australian goods exports by value to India are now tariff-free, rising to 90% by 1 January 2026. High tariffs have been reduced on some further agricultural products. In addition, 96% of imports from India are now tariff-free, rising to 100% by 1 January 2026.
The agreement includes chapters on initial provisions and general definitions, trade in goods, and more.
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Frequently asked questions
Australia has 18 free trade agreements with over 20 countries.
Australia has bilateral free trade agreements with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, India, and Indonesia.
The AANZFTA includes Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia joined at a later date.
The RCEP is a free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
