ACCI & ICC Australia Zoom Session with Elizabeth Bowes & Arjuna Nadaraja from DFAT on Mutual recognition of professional services and the wider impact of Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement

On 15 June 2021, Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison and UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced core elements of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The Australia-UK FTA is set to increase the flow of commerce and trade between Australia and the UK, particularly through the removal of significant tariffs on goods and introduction of broader labour mobility provisions.

Australia is seeking an ambitious and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) that drives increased trade in goods and services, two-way investment, economic growth and job creation. An FTA with the UK also signals our shared commitment to open markets, free trade and the rules-based global trading system.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the International Chamber of Commerce Australia held a zoom conference with senior DFAT representatives; Elisabeth Bowes, Chief Negotiator, Regional Trade Agreements Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Arjuna Nadaraja, Director, Services Competitiveness, Professional Services and Mutual Recognition, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The FTA will make it easier for professionals including lawyers, accountants, engineers and architects, to transfer and use their qualifications in the other country including accessibility for Australian lawyers to practise foreign and international law in the UK, including in arbitration, mediation and conciliation proceedings.

At this session, DFAT’s Chief Negotiator, Elisabeth Bowes spoke on the Australia-UK FTA more broadly and Arjuna Nadaraja, lead on professional services negotiations for Australia in the FTA, provided a briefing on the mutual recognition of professional services elements.