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Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme kicks off
The new scheme, which the government hopes will shine a light on the activities of foreign principals in Australia, has officially commenced.
Jerome Doraisamy
Under the new Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS), which commenced on Monday of this week, any person who undertakes certain activities on behalf of a foreign principal for the purpose of influencing the national political or government processes will be required to register under the scheme, Attorney-General Christian Porter said.
“Individuals or entities undertaking activities on behalf of a foreign principal may need to register, depending on who the foreign principal is, the nature and purpose of the activities undertaken, and in some cases, whether the person has held a senior public position in Australia.”
“Activities covered by the scheme include parliamentary lobbying, general political lobbying, communications activity and disbursement activity, done on behalf of a foreign principal for the purpose of political or governmental influence.”
Mr Porter said FITS, along with the Espionage and Foreign Interference Act, will provide key protections to Australia’s national security and democratic institutions and processes and support the country’s sovereignty, values and national interests.
“These new national security acts were requested by our national security agencies and reflect the fact that, as we have heard time and time again from our most senior national security leaders, we live in a time of unprecedented foreign intelligence activity against Australia with more foreign agents, from more foreign powers, using more tradecraft to engage in espionage and foreign interference than at any time since the Cold War,” he argued.
Under FITS, it will be the responsibility of the person undertaking the activity to determine whether they are required to register and it is an offence not to register if required to do so.
Registration must be completed within 14 days of either entering into a relationship with a foreign principal or undertaking a registrable activity on behalf of a foreign principal,” the A-G’s department noted in a statement.
“Under amendments to the scheme passed by the Australian Parliament this week, a three-month grace period applies to existing relationships or arrangements.”
“[FITS] will enhance transparency right across the Australian government and safeguard the nation’s democracy by providing visibility of the forms and sources of foreign influence in Australia’s governmental and political processes,” Mr Porter said.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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