Australia: Signed Australia-UK FTA, including cross-border transfer of information

On 17 April 2021, the governments of Australia and the United Kingdom signed the “Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement”. The Agreement includes a Chapter on Digital Trade regulating, among others, cross-border transfer of information by electronic means. The provision on cross-border transfer of information recognises that each party may have its own regulatory requirements concerning the transfer of information by electronic means, but also establishes that the parties may not prohibit or restrict the cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, including personal information. However, the parties are allowed to adopt or maintain measures inconsistent with the provision in order to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, provided that the measure: (a) is not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination, or a disguised restriction on trade; and (b) does not impose restrictions on transfers of information greater than are required to achieve the objective.