Foreign Interactions

Foreign interference occurs when activities are carried out by, or on behalf of a foreign actor, which are coercive, covert, deceptive or corrupting and are contrary to Australia’s sovereignty, values and national interests (p.5, ‘Foreign interference’ versus ‘foreign influence’, UFIT’s Guidelines to counter foreign interference in the Australian university sector, November 2021).

This diagram explains foreign interference and why it’s important to address it.

Case studies from the UFIT Guidelines demonstrate how foreign interference may occur in university activities.

Signs that foreign interference may be occurring in your university activities arising from foreign interactions include:

• Attempts to reduce transparency, such as requests to move to private forms of communication or to avoid university oversight of the interaction
• Attempts to conceal a foreign relationship or interaction
• A suggested or implied sense of obligation or an expectation of something in return connected with the relationship/interaction
• A relationship being ongoing and privileged to the exclusion of others
• Attempts to influence a decision-making process, or the suggestion or exertion of pressure to influence others to take a particular position.

Anyone who is aware of or reasonably suspects that foreign interference is occurring in relation to University activities must report it to the General Counsel immediately.

• A foreign government, including:
  • a department or agency of the government
  • a regional government body, or
  • a local government body.
• A foreign political organisation, including:
  • a political party, or
  • an organisation that exists primarily to pursue political objectives.
• A foreign government related entity, including:
  • a company where the government or a political organisation can
    • appoint at least 20% of the board of directors, or
    • exercise substantial control over the company.
  • an entity where the members of the executive committee (however described) are under any kind of obligation to act in accordance with the directions of the foreign government or foreign political organisation; or
  • an entity whose officers or employees are required by law or any rules to be a member or part of a foreign political organisation.
  • NOTE: An entity that only receives funding from a foreign government or foreign political organisation is not considered to be a foreign government related entity.
• A foreign government related individual; including
  • a person (not an Australian citizen or permanent resident) who is under any kind of obligation to act in accordance with the directions of a foreign government, foreign political organisation or foreign government related entity.
  • NOTE: A person is not a foreign government related individual only because they are under an obligation to obey the laws of a foreign government.

• Parliamentary lobbying (communicating with a member of Parliament or their staff with the intent to influence processes, decisions or outcomes) –
  • on behalf of a foreign government whether or not the purpose is political or governmental influence, or
  • on behalf of other kinds of foreign principals for the purpose of political or government influence.
• General political lobbying for the purpose of political or governmental influence on behalf of any kind of foreign principal, including the lobbying of:
  • a Commonwealth public official
  • a Commonwealth Department, agency or authority
  • a registered political party, or
  • a candidate in a federal election.
• Communications activities (distributing material to the public or a section of the public) for the purpose of political or governmental influence on behalf of any kind of foreign principal.
• Disbursement activities (the distribution of money or things of value on behalf of a foreign principal) for the purpose of political or governmental influence on behalf of any kind of foreign principal.

• A company controlled by a foreign government provides scholarship funding for a Flinders University PHD student in the agricultural sciences area. During the scholarship the company contacts the student and informs them of an opportunity to increase their profile by writing an opinion piece to be published in an Australian newspaper protesting upcoming changes to import tariffs relating to agricultural products. The opinion piece will urge members of parliament to vote against the laws.
• Flinders University collaborates with a foreign university known to have close ties to that country’s ruling party.  An academic at Flinders University is requested by an academic of the foreign university to co-author an article critical of impending Australian federal laws which tighten restrictions on foreign investment.
• A student association accepts a monetary donation from a foreign political organisation. The foreign political organisation indicates that they want a particular party elected in the next Australian federal election. The student association runs on-campus campaigns to influence students to vote for the preferred political party.

Anyone that is undertaking or planning to undertake activity on behalf of a foreign principal for the primary purpose of influencing political or Commonwealth Government outcomes must contact Legal Services for advice and register the activity via the Attorney-General Department’s Registration portal.

Failure to comply with the FITS can result in significant penalties, including imprisonment. These penalties are intended to encourage compliance and deter individuals from evading their registration obligations.

An arrangement is defined by the Act as any written arrangement, agreement, contract, understanding or undertaking, whether or not it is legally binding and whether or not it is made in Australia. It includes variations of existing arrangements, and exercises of options to extend arrangements. It also includes informal arrangements if they are in writing.

While in some cases the question of whether a foreign university lacks institutional autonomy will be clear, in other cases further enquiries will be needed to assess this. If it is unclear, complete a Service One Request for guidance as to how to proceed.

Anyone proposing to negotiate or entering into an arrangement with a foreign government or foreign university must do so in accordance with University’s Due Diligence process. If it is determined that no exemption applies (see below) an online notification of the arrangement must be completed using the Foreign Arrangements Scheme Online Portal.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs must be notified of the proposal to enter the arrangement. If the arrangement is entered into, the Minister must also be notified about that within 14 days.

High-level details of foreign arrangements notified to the Minister, and any decisions made by the Minister are published in a public register, although applications can be made for exclusion on certain grounds (e.g. commercial sensitivity, legal professional privilege, national security).

A variation to an existing arrangement which has already been notified and that does not alter its substance – e.g. changing the number of students involved in a student exchange – is also exempt from notification requirements A variation to an existing arrangement that does not alter its substance – e.g. changing the number of students involved in a student exchange – is also exempt from notification requirements.

If the Minister of Foreign Affairs considers that the negotiation or arrangement:

• would adversely affect, or would be likely to adversely affect, Australia’s foreign relations, or
• would be, or would be likely to be, inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy

— the Minister may make a declaration prohibiting the negotiation or entering into the arrangement.

If an arrangement is entered into in contravention of a declaration, the Minister may make a further declaration that the arrangement is invalid and unenforceable, required to be terminated, or not in operation.

My arrangement is with a foreign university, how will I know if it has institutional autonomy?

You do not need to know this. We will make an assessment based on the criteria in the legislation. To help with the assessment, we may need more information from the foreign university and we may ask you to request the information from your contact at the university.

More details on institutional autonomy can be found under ‘What counts as a ‘foreign university that lacks institutional autonomy’? and note [5] of the notes accompanying the Foreign Arrangement Scheme flowchart located under Additional resources.

I have an arrangement (confirmed in writing) to attend and present at a conference at a foreign university. Does this need to be notified?

The Foreign Arrangements Scheme only applies to the arrangement if it is Flinders’ arrangement, rather than entered into by you acting in your own right. This can be difficult to assess. Therefore, Flinders University has developed a test to determine whether Flinders is a party to the arrangement – see note [2] of the notes accompanying the Foreign Arrangements Scheme flowchart located under Additional resources. 

Even if it is concluded the arrangement is a Flinders arrangement and not personal to you, if the arrangement deals solely with minor administrative or logistical matters it will be exempt and, therefore, not notifiable. However, if you are proposing to enter into or have entered into an agreement that involves collaboration on a workshop, presentation or conference session, that proposal or agreement may be notifiable. If the arrangement is a Flinders arrangement, it needs to be assessed further to determine if it is notifiable.

I have an arrangement with a researcher at a foreign university where we have informally agreed to collaborate on a paper. Will this be notifiable?

Once again, the first question to consider is whether the arrangement is a Flinders arrangement that potentially requires notification, or one personal to you which is not notifiable. Refer to note [2] of the notes accompanying the Foreign Arrangements Scheme flowchart located under Additional resources for the test to apply. If it is a Flinders arrangement and it is in writing (even informal writing such as exchange of emails), the arrangement will need to be assessed to determine if it is notifiable.

The Consolidated List is a list maintained by the Australian Sanctions Office (ASO) of all persons and entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions under Australian sanctions law. Those listed may be Australian citizens, foreign nationals, or residents in Australia or overseas.

The University checks the Consolidated List as part of our contract due diligence and pre-employment checks for all new employees not an Australian citizen or a dual citizen.

The University’s HDR Sanctions Procedures, which are intended to ensure the University does not breach Australian sanction laws in respect to HDR candidature activities, also require all international HDR candidates to be screened against the ASO Consolidated List. If an applicant is on the Consolidated List their application for HDR candidature will be rejected.

• Enrolling a student or employing a person from a sanctioned country could involve the provision of a certain service to a sanctioned country or the provision of an asset to a designated person or entity.
• Collaborating with another person or entity (including a foreign university) from a sanctioned country could involve the supply of certain goods or services to a sanctioned country, or providing assets to, or dealing with the assets of, a designated person or entity.
• The above activities could also be impacted by travel bans if involving a designated person.

Australian sanction laws – the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 and the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 – establish serious criminal offences, including for contravening a sanctions measure without a sanctions permit. Penalties include up to ten years in prison and substantial fines.