Richard Marles, Australia’s minister for defense, has introduced in Parliament proposed legislation to tighten the transfer of military technology to foreign interests except AUKUS allies the United States and the United Kingdom. Marles filed the Defence Trade Controls Amendment Bill 2023 ahead of his U.S. visit to attend the AUKUS Defense Ministers’ Meeting in California.
The Australian Ministry of Defence said that under the bill, current trade policies will be expanded to regulate the supply of controlled military exports on the country’s Defence and Strategic Goods List. It added that the tighter controls seek to protect Australia’s cutting-edge military technologies.
The ministry also emphasized that the bill will provide a license-free environment for Australia’s U.S.-U.K. defense trade. It said the bill’s passage will remove permits for defense exports to the United States and the United Kingdom, eliminating the red tape on $5 billion worth of annual defense exports.