Australia and United Kingdom finalise Free Trade Agreement
The Australian and United Kingdom governments signed a Free Tade Agreement (A-UKFTA) on 17 December 2021. The measures announced in the A-UKFTA will not come into effect until reviewed by the Australian Parliament, and in some cases will require the passing of new legislative measures.
Globility Group has previously highlighted the emerging importance of Free Trade Agreements to support the global movement of skilled talent, and particularly to address existing and emerging skill shortage gaps.
One of the first significant talent mobility concessions which Australia agreed with a major economy involved the introduction of the E-3 visa category to the United States of America introduced in 2005. Even though the E-3 visa dd not form part of a free trade agreement with the United States of America, the visa came about in parallel with the widening bilateral trade agreement between the two countries at the time. At the time of its introduction, the E-3 visa gave qualified and skilled Australian nationals a unique advantage when applying to work in the United States of America.
Historically, the United Kingdom has been a key destination for skilled Australian talent. The A-UKFTA will serve to further expand on an already deep and mutually beneficial partnership between the two countries. The free trade agreement is also one of the first to be negotiated by the UK government in the post-BREXIT period.
The successful negotiation of the A-UKFTA follows similar recent free trade agreements negotiated by the Australian Government with key trading partners including Japan, South Korea and China. All of these free trade agreements contained elements to facilitate the efficient exchange of skilled talent.
The Australian Government Minister for Trade confirmed that the landmark free trade agreement with the United Kingdom will make Australian exports to the UK cheaper, create new opportunities for workers, young people and businesses and further strengthen the special relationship between our two countries.
This is the most comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that Australia has concluded, other than with New Zealand. It demonstrates both countries’ commitment to free trade as a driver of economic growth and stronger bilateral relationships.
A significant element of any free trade agreement is the people movement concessions, and the A-UKFTA is no different. Australian and British nationals have travelled to each other's shores for years. This exchange of talent, ingenuity and ambition has enriched all sectors of both our economies.
The Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) will turbocharge that tradition and includes reciprocal commitments on temporary entry of skilled personnel that will support the bilateral advancement of professional skills, commercial interests and modern value chains.
The UK has guaranteed access for managers and specialists across all sectors to undertake three-year intra-corporate transfers to the UK, and for graduate trainees to have one-year transfers.
Australians entering the UK as Contractual Service Suppliers and Independent Professionals will have the same access as European Union nationals. This will provide new opportunities for service suppliers to work in the UK on contracts for up to a year.
Australian professional service exporters are important contributors to the Australian economy, with key exports including world-class legal, accounting, engineering, architecture, surveying and urban planning and research and development services.
The details of the various components of the A-UKFTA will take some time to be confirm, with some taking two to five years from the 'entry into force' (EIF) of the Agreement, including:
Working holiday opportunities for both countries allowing the age limits to be lifted to 35 years and stays of up to three years will occur within two years of the EIF.
Managers and specialists will have guaranteed access to intra corporate transfer and graduate trainees one-year transfers - no detail of the visa pathways to be utilised has been provided as yet.
Innovators and early career development will be piloted with a streamlined program capped at 1000 in the first year, rising to 2000 the second year, after which it will be reviewed to assess future implementation - it is expected that this pathway will utilise the Global Talent visa.
Agricultural workers - a joint Declaration on Agriculture and Agribusiness Workers detailing available pathways for workers in this sector will be made and UK workers have been invited to participate in the Australian Agriculture Visa, which is under development.
UK service suppliers including architects, scientists, researchers, lawyers and accountants will be able to access Australian visas without being subject to the occupation skilled lists.
Recognition of professional qualifications between Australia and the UK will be increased with improved collaboration between accreditation and regulatory bodies.
Australian and UK lawyers will have reciprocal rights to practice in each country.
With the significant disruption to global supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, free trade agreements like the A-UKFTA will play an increasingly important role in rebuilding economies devastated by extended lockdowns and border closures.
Globility Group anticipates that Australia will aggressively pursue similar free trade agreements with like-minded democratic trading partners, particularly in the high growth Indo-Pacific region.
One of the most significant agreement yet to be finalised involves Australia and India. It’s encouraging that both countries formally launched the resumption of negotiations on the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in October 2021, with the aim to conclude the negotiations on a full CECA by the end of 2022.
The increasingly complex geo-politics of the Indo-Pacific region also highlight the importance of negotiating comprehensive economic cooperation agreements with the European Union, which has a deep connection with the region.