FED Australian Universities Must Follow Australian Law at Overseas Campuses

Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Amendment Bill 2026

20 Aug 2026: Passed by Parliament and signed off by the governor.

This bill kicks in: TBA

House of Representatives

Senate

Assent

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Topics

foreign arrangements foreign influence foreign relations government accountability government transparency higher education information sharing national security university autonomy university governance

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

Core State and Territory entities must notify the Foreign Affairs Minister about core foreign arrangements within 3 months.
State and Territory entities must notify the Foreign Affairs Minister about non-core foreign arrangements within 3 months.
Core State and Territory entities must notify the Foreign Affairs Minister if a core foreign arrangement ends early.
The Foreign Affairs Minister can order a State or Territory entity to provide details on specific arrangements within 14 days.
The Foreign Affairs Minister can decide in writing to keep a foreign arrangement active, even if it would normally be cancelled.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Department Secretary, Department staff, or entrusted persons can share information about these arrangements with other Commonwealth entities to help those entities do their jobs.
A university is now considered to lack institutional autonomy if it is in a foreign country where a foreign government can substantially control its governance, education, or research.
Australian universities must follow the law at their overseas campuses. Any actions taken by an overseas campus are treated as actions by the Australian university.
The legal test for several parts of the Act changes from 'foreign relations' to 'national interest'.
The Foreign Affairs Minister can write to a State or Territory entity and force them to report on foreign arrangements that are usually exempt.
Core State and Territory entities must tell the Foreign Affairs Minister about their existing arrangements with specific foreign entities.
State and Territory entities must tell the Foreign Affairs Minister about their existing non-core foreign arrangements with specific entities.