Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018

Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018
Parliament of Australia
Long title An Act to establish a scheme to improve the transparency of activities undertaken on behalf of foreign principals, and for related purposes
Enacted by	Parliament of Australia
Enacted	28 June 2018[1]
Considered by	Australian Senate
Assented to	29 June 2018[1]
Legislative history
First chamber: Parliament of Australia
Introduced by	Malcolm Turnbull
First reading	7 December 2017[1]
Second reading	26 June 2018[1]
Third reading	26 June 2018[1]
Second chamber: Australian Senate
First reading	27 June 2018[1]
Second reading	27 June 2018[1]
Third reading	28 June 2018[1]
Status: In force

The Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018 (Cth) (FITSA) is an Australian statute that creates a registration scheme for foreign agents in Australia.

FITSA is modelled on the American Foreign Agents Registration Act; when he introduced the bill that would become FITSA in Parliament, then–Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described it as an "improved version" of the American statute.[2] The statute was part of a "package" of legislation aimed at countering foreign influence in Australia that the Turnbull government advanced beginning in December 2017.[3][4] When drafting the bill, the Turnbull government worked closely with the United States Department of Justice.[5] It was amended substantially following criticism from civil society groups that argued the original provisions would stifle freedom of speech.[6]

FITSA received royal assent on 29 June 2018.[7] It requires anyone who engages in lobbying or "any kind of communications activity for the purpose of political influence" on behalf of a "foreign principal"—a term that includes foreign governments and some other organizations—to register with the federal government, and imposes criminal penalties for failure to do so.[3]

In December 2023, former Liberal candidate and prominent fundraiser Di Sanh "Sunny" Duong became the first person to be criminally convicted for violations of the law.[8][9]

Further reading

• Barker, Cat; McKeown, Deirdre; Murphy, Jaan (16 March 2018). "Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2017 and Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (Charges Imposition) Bill 2017". Parliament of Australia.

Notes

1. "Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2018". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
2. Draffen & Ng 2020, pp. 1102–1103.
3. Douek, Evelyn (11 July 2018). "What's in Australia's New Laws on Foreign Interference in Domestic Politics". Lawfare. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
4. Köllner, Patrick (4 May 2021). "Australia and New Zealand recalibrate their China policies: convergence and divergence". The Pacific Review. 34 (3): 405–436. doi:10.1080/09512748.2019.1683598. ISSN 0951-2748. S2CID 211459742.
5. Robinson 2020, p. 1089.
6. Robinson 2020, pp. 1089–1090.
7. "Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018". Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
8. "Ex-Liberal candidate found guilty of using donation to attempt to influence Morrison government for China". The Guardian. 19 December 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
9. Silva, Kristian (19 December 2023). "Chinese-Australian businessman guilty of attempting to influence then-minister Alan Tudge with hospital donation". ABC News. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.

Sources

• Draffen, Chris; Ng, Yee-Fui (2020). "Foreign Agent Registration Schemes in Australia and the United States: The Scope, Risk and Limitations of Transparency" (PDF). University of New South Wales Law Journal. 43 (4): 1101–1136.
• Robinson, Nick (2020). "'Foreign Agents' in an Interconnected World: FARA and the Weaponization of Transparency". Duke Law Journal. 69: 1075–1147.

External links

• Complete text of FITSA