Who needs to register
Your community organisation might need to register if it undertakes any of the listed registrable activities on behalf of a foreign principal, unless exempt. Registration is a legal requirement and not registering is a criminal offence.
Registering does not mean you have to stop or change what you are doing. Foreign influence, when conducted openly and transparently, is positive and welcomed in Australia.
How to register
Registering is simple. You can register at transparency.ag.gov.au/myregistration.
To get started, create an account for your organisation. This account will allow you to register each activity that is covered by the FITS, along with any associated arrangements with a foreign principal.
You are required to provide your name, contact details and occupation as well as details about:
- the foreign principal
- the arrangement that you have with them
- details of the activity that you are undertaking on their behalf.
We then publish certain information about those activities on the public Transparency Register (transparency.ag.gov.au) to provide transparency about those foreign interests.
Key concepts
Foreign influence
Foreign influence generally refers to the efforts by or on behalf of foreign actors to impact and influence issues, policies or decisions of interest to them, outside of their own jurisdictions, in a way that is open, transparent and respectful of people and society.
The FITS does not require registration of all foreign influence activities. It only requires that certain foreign interests in a select range of activities are made transparent to the public by being registered.
It is normal for foreign actors to seek to influence important issues and policies in Australia, just as the Australian Government does in other countries. The Australian Government welcomes engagement from, and collaboration with, the international community.
Acting on behalf of a foreign principal
To act on behalf of a foreign principal means to act in any of the following circumstances:
- under an arrangement with the foreign principal (whether formal, informal, written or verbal)
- in the service of the foreign principal
- on the order or at the request of the foreign principal
- under the direction of the foreign principal.
For example, this may include:
- where a foreign principal provides guidance to an organisation on how to carry out their work or has oversight of their work
- where an organisation enters into an informal, verbal agreement with the foreign principal to undertake a particular activity
- where an organisation does work for the foreign principal, where both the organisation and foreign principal intended or expected them to do so.
Purpose of the activity: political or governmental influence
Certain types of registrable activities undertaken in Australia on behalf of a foreign principal are only registrable if they are undertaken for the purpose of political or governmental influence. This happens when the sole, primary or substantial purpose of the activity is to influence any of the following processes in relation to:
- a federal election, referendum, vote or survey
- a federal government decision
- proceedings of a House of the Parliament
- a political party registered on the Australian Electoral Commission’s Register of Political Parties (which includes federal political parties, as well as some of their state divisions and branches)
- a member of the Parliament who is not a member of a registered political party
- a person or entity registered as a political campaigner under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
It also includes when the sole, primary or substantial purpose of the activity is to influence the public or a section of the public about any of those processes.
Examples of legitimate and democratic activities undertaken for the purpose of political or governmental influence include:
- advocating for your community’s interests to influence federal government decisions or policies, such as by distributing pamphlets or issuing public statements advocating for or against a federal government policy or decision
- organising an event or rally advocating for or against a federal government policy or decision, or intended to influence other citizens’ votes at a federal election or referendum
- meeting with a registered political party or candidate, to influence their policies on a matter of public concern or their relationship with a foreign principal. You do not need to register political and government activities if you are not undertaking them on behalf of a foreign principal.
Registration exemptions
You might be exempt from registering under the FITS even if you undertake activities on behalf of a foreign principal. Visit registration exemptions on the department’s website for a full list of exemptions and their criteria. Some examples of exemptions include:
- activities that primarily relate to providing humanitarian aid or assistance
- religious activities undertaken in good faith
- activities that primarily relate to the artistic purpose of an entity whose purpose relates primarily to the arts, provided it is transparent that the activity is on behalf of a foreign principal
- a registered charity’s activities which are undertaken to achieve their charitable purpose, provided it is not a disbursement activity and it is transparent that the activity is on behalf of a foreign principal.
Your community organisation could be a foreign principal that others need to register in relation to
Some community organisations may also be foreign principals themselves. If your community organisation is a foreign principal, then anyone that undertakes a registrable activity on your behalf may also need to register under the FITS, unless they are exempt.
You should therefore consider whether your community organisation may be a foreign principal itself under the FITS – particularly a foreign government related entity. Find out more on the department’s website about how to determine whether an entity is a foreign principal.
If you assess that your community organisation is a foreign principal, you should consider notifying those you work with so that they are aware of any potential registration obligations that they may have when acting on behalf of or in an arrangement with your organisation. This is not a legal obligation for your community organisation, but would help others to be compliant with the Act.
For example:
- If you are a foreign principal and you enter an arrangement with another organisation to petition together against a federal government policy, then that other organisation may need to register this arrangement.
- If you are a foreign principal and you direct another organisation or individual to post a statement on their social media encouraging their followers to vote for a particular political party in a federal election, then that organisation or individual may need to register that they did so on your behalf.
- If you are a foreign principal and you request an executive member of your organisation to host, in their personal capacity, a rally advocating for or against a federal government policy or decision, then that individual may need to register that they organised the rally on your behalf.
Further questions
If you need any help determining whether you need to register and how to register, feel free to reach out to us at transparency@ag.gov.au or on 02 6141 3222 (weekdays 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm AEST).
More information about the FITS is available on the Attorney-General’s Department website: ag.gov.au/integrity/foreign-influence-transparency-scheme.
