Australia has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005 No. 44 establishes the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) as an independent telecommunications authority. Division 4 of the Act establishes that the Minister may give written directions to the ACMA in relation to the performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers. However, it is reported that the ACMA is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

My Health Records Act 2012 requires information relating to health records to be stored and processed within Australia unless the records do not include "personal information in relation to a healthcare recipient or a participant in the My Health Record System" or "identifying information of an individual or entity" (Section 77).

Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (FATA), Australia subjects certain foreign investments to national security screening, combining mandatory ex ante notification with call-in and last-resort ex post powers. Under Section 55B, a notifiable national security action arises where a foreign person proposes to start a national security business, acquire a direct interest in a national security business (or in an entity carrying on such a business), or acquire an interest in national security land. The term national security business is defined in Section 8AA of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015, including businesses connected to critical infrastructure, telecommunications carriers or nominated carriage service providers, businesses supplying critical military or intelligence goods, technologies, or services, and certain businesses handling classified information or sensitive data relating to defence and intelligence personnel. Government guidance further indicates that, where this national security screening applies, notification is generally required regardless of transaction value.
Australia’s national security screening framework also includes ex post review mechanisms. Under Section 66A of FATA, the Treasurer may review a reviewable national security action (and certain significant actions) on national security grounds. Investments not subject to mandatory notification may be voluntarily notified to reduce the risk of later review, while non-notified investments may be called in for a national security assessment. In addition, Division 3 of Part 3 of FATA establishes last-resort powers, including powers to vary or revoke conditions, impose new conditions, or require divestment where national security risks arise after an initial assessment or approval.
In practice, these powers have been invoked to restrict foreign participation on grounds of national security and national interest. For example, in 2012, the Australian Government blocked Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from tendering for contracts associated with the National Broadband Network (NBN), citing cybersecurity concerns. More recently, in June 2024, the Treasurer ordered several China-linked investors to dispose of their shares in the rare earths miner Northern Minerals, including Yuxiao Fund, Ximei Liu, Xi Wang, and Black Stone Resources.

Australia is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Australia has a clear regime of copyright exceptions under the Copyright Act that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. The list of exceptions includes research or study, criticism or review, parody or satire, reporting news, enabling a person with a disability to access the material, and professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney or trademark attorney (Division 3).

Australia is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Pursuant to the authority conferred by the Customs Act 1901, the Anti-Dumping Commission, led by a Commissioner, is responsible for administering anti-dumping and countervailing measures. In May 2024, the Commission extended the anti-dumping duties originally imposed in May 2019 on PVC flat electric cables (HS 8544.49.20) imported from China. The applicable duty rates range from 2.8% to 18.9%, depending on the exporting company.

In April 2023, the Australian Government, acting under the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) Direction 001-2023, prohibited the use of TikTok on all federal government devices. This measure aligned Australia with its Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partners, namely the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, and was adopted in response to cybersecurity concerns associated with the Chinese-owned application. According to official statements, the decision was based on assessments conducted by national intelligence and security agencies, with implementation to occur “as soon as practicable.” In response, TikTok expressed concern, noting that the measure was introduced without specific security findings being publicly disclosed or prior consultation with the company.
Furthermore, in February 2025, the Australian Government, acting under the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) 001-2025, extended similar restrictions to products, applications, and web services developed by the Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek on government networks and devices. The Government indicated that this prohibition was grounded in a risk and threat assessment identifying security risks associated with the use of such technologies.

The 2012 Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) were amended in June 2024 to raise the procurement thresholds for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Pursuant to Sections 5.7 and 5.8, at least 25% (up from 20%) of procurements valued below AUD 1 billion (approx. USD 660 million), and 40% (up from 35%) of procurements valued below AUD 20 million (approx. USD 13 million), must be sourced from domestic SMEs.
In addition, the amendment raised the SME exemption threshold from AUD 200,000 (approx. USD 130,000) to AUD 500,000 (approx. USD 330,000). This threshold denotes the value below which Australian Government entities may procure directly from SMEs without conducting a full open tender procedure.

The Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP), as updated in June 2025, establishes both procurement targets for purchasing from Indigenous enterprises and a Mandatory Set-Aside (MSA) mechanism to direct Commonwealth contracts to such enterprises (Section 1.3.2). The MSA applies to all procurements conducted in remote areas, as well as to procurements wholly delivered within Australia with an estimated value between AUD 80,000 and AUD 200,000 (approx. USD 55,000–140,000).
Furthermore, Section 1.3.3 of the Policy introduces Indigenous participation targets for high-value contracts wholly delivered in Australia, specifically those valued at AUD 7.5 million (approx. USD 5 million) or more within designated industry categories. These targets, referred to as the Mandatory Minimum Indigenous Participation Requirements (MMR), include the obligation that, in procurement processes subject to the MMR, contracting authorities must take into account a tenderer’s past performance in meeting MMR targets under previous Commonwealth contracts.

Australia is a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), and its commitments also cover the services sectors considered most important for digital trade, namely telecommunication services (CPC 752), telecommunication-related services (CPC 754), and computer and related services (CPC 84).

The Telstra Corporations Act 1991 provides under Section 8BG that aggregate foreign ownership of Telstra (the incumbent telecommunication company) is limited to 35%, and individual foreign investors are only allowed to own up to 5%. This specific cap was imposed in 1999 as part of an amendment to the Act.
Additionally, the National Broadband Network Companies Act 2011 provides that the Commonwealth must retain full ownership of National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) (Part 3, Division 2, Subdivision A). This ownership structure could be terminated only in limited circumstances (Part 3, Division 2, Subdivision B). This rule has been in place since its enactment in 2011.