Renegotiation of Australia’s Bilateral Investment Treaties

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) submitted recommendations to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding the renegotiation of older-generation bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The IISD advocates for terminating outdated treaties and replacing them with a new generation of frameworks that prioritize sustainable development, climate action, and national regulatory autonomy over blanket investor protections.

• The IISD recommends that Australia terminate old-generation bilateral investment treaties (BITs) concluded in the 1990s and early 2000s with Czechia, Egypt, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, as these are based on an outdated model prioritizing investor protection and investor–state dispute settlement over current public policy goals.
• Future investment treaty frameworks should be redesigned to address modern governance challenges, specifically prioritizing investments that support climate mitigation, adaptation, and a just transition, while facilitating technology transfers, local economic linkages, and productive industrialization.
• The IISD proposes a shift in the treaty regime to recognize national law as the primary regulator, moving away from blanket protections that override domestic regulation, and emphasizing transparency through public accountability and beneficial ownership registries.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2026). Renegotiation of Australia’s Bilateral Investment Treaties. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/submission-renegotiation-australia-bilateral-investment-treaties

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Renegotiation of Australia’s Bilateral Investment Treaties. 2026. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/submission-renegotiation-australia-bilateral-investment-treaties.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Renegotiation of Australia’s Bilateral Investment Treaties |date=8 April 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/submission-renegotiation-australia-bilateral-investment-treaties |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2026renegotiation, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Renegotiation of Australia’s Bilateral Investment Treaties}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/submission-renegotiation-australia-bilateral-investment-treaties}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }