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Australia’s Foreign Arrangements Scheme was introduced in 2020 to ensure that arrangements between state and territory governments (and their entities) and foreign entities are consistent with Australia’s foreign policy and do not adversely impact national foreign relations. As a publicly funded university, Federation University is a government entity under the terms of the scheme and is bound by the requirement to notify the government of certain foreign agreements.
Agreements entered by the University are deemed non-core arrangements as defined by Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 (the Act) and do not require prior approval by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, however a notification of intention to negotiate an agreement with a foreign entity must be submitted prior to the agreement being executed. The Minister must also be notified within 14 days of entering into the agreement. The Minister may make a declaration prohibiting the University from entering the agreement or declaring that an existing agreement is not in operation if the arrangement is inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy or may adversely affect Australia’s foreign relations.
This procedure has been developed to provide information and guidance to staff and to ensure that the University acts in compliance with Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 (the Act).
This procedure applies to all university staff when negotiating, renewing or extending an arrangement with a foreign entity or entering into a subsidiary arrangement under an existing agreement on behalf of the university.
- Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020
- Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Rules 2020
Arrangement: |
An arrangement is any written agreement, agreement, contract, understanding or undertaking:
|
Foreign arrangement: | An arrangement between a State/Territory entity (including a public university) and a foreign entity. |
Foreign country: | Any country that is outside Australia and the external Territories, whether or not it is an independent sovereign state. |
Foreign entity: |
A foreign entity is any of the following entities:
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Institutional autonomy: | A university does not have institutional autonomy if, and only if, a foreign government is in a position to exercise substantial control over the university. |
Core foreign arrangement: | An arrangement between a State or Territory, the government of a State or Territory, or a department or agency of a State or Territory government and a core foreign entity. (Core agreements are government to government agreements only and will not apply to Federation University agreements). |
Non-core foreign arrangement: | A foreign arrangement that is not a core foreign arrangement; e.g. arrangements between universities for research or provision of educational services and materials. |
Subsidiary arrangement: | An arrangement entered under the auspices of an existing foreign arrangement, e.g. a commercial third party contractor providing services under the auspices of the header agreement. |
When entering into, extending or varying foreign arrangements Federation University Australia has obligations to undertake due diligence to establish the identity of all parties to the agreement and their potential affiliations with foreign governments.
University employees negotiating foreign arrangements must make all reasonable enquiries to assess whether the parties to the arrangement are Foreign Entities as defined above and record the findings of their enquiries as evidence of the decision-making process. Arrangements with corporations which act on a purely commercial basis are not captured by the scheme unless forming part of a subsidiary arrangement.
Agreements with parties identified as Foreign Entities must be notified to the Department of Foreign Affairs DFAT through the Foreign Arrangements Scheme Online Portal. Information provided to DFAT may be made available on the public register.
Prior to entering into negotiation of any agreement involving a foreign entity, approval must be obtained from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Global and Engagement, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation or the Chief Operating Officer.
On receipt of preliminary approval the following activities must be completed:
ACTIVITY | RESPONSIBILITY | STEPS | |
1. | Agreement Negotiations | Member of staff requesting consideration of arrangement. |
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ACTIVITY | RESPONSIBILITY | STEPS | |
1. | DFAT notification – Potential arrangement | Legal Department |
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2. | DFAT Notification – Signed agreement | Legal Department |
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3. | Withdrawing Arrangements | Legal Department |
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ACTIVITY | RESPONSIBILITY | STEPS | |
1. | Ministerial declarations | All staff |
Any such notification must be immediately forwarded to:
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2. | International Education Committee Reporting | Director, Governance and Strategy |
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3. | Audit and Risk Management Committee Reporting | Director, Governance and Strategy |
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- Foreign Arrangements Scheme Online Portal User Guide for State and Territory Entities
- Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 – Guidance on Institutional Autonomy
- Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 – Guidance Government Corporations
- Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 – Fact Sheet 4 – Australian Universities
Forms
- Foreign Arrangements Notification Checklist (DOCX 360.5kb)
- Foreign Arrangements Portal Submission Form (DOCX 194.5kb)
- The Chief Operating Officer (as the Approval Authority) is responsible for monitoring the implementation, outcomes and scheduled review of this procedure.
- Head of Legal (as the Document Owner) is responsible for maintaining the content of this procedure as delegated by the Chief Operating Officer.
The Foreign Arrangements Notification Procedure will be communicated throughout the University via:
- A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website.
- Distribution of e-mails to VCST Members, Deans, Directors and University staff with direct responsibility for actions.
The Foreign Arrangements Notification Procedure will be implemented throughout the University via:
- A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website.
- Targeted training as required.