DFAT’s four steps to a preferential tariff
- Step 1
Check whether there is a tariff to cut
DFAT starts with a caution: “A lot of international trade already occurs without tariffs being applied”, so the first question is whether an agreement cuts the tariff that usually applies to the product. Traded products are classified under an internationally recognised system, the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, known as the HS code. DFAT’s FTA Portal takes key words about the product, or its HS code, and the partner country. It shows the default tariff outside any agreement, the likely rates under each available agreement, the Product Specific Rule for each, and the kind of documents that may be needed to prove origin.
In DFAT’s words: “Ultimately, the decision around the HS classification of the good and the tariff rate that will apply is made by the importing country’s customs authority.” The Portal is a guide only.
- Step 2
Test the product against the rules of origin
On the Portal’s Rules tab, the business picks the agreement it plans to use and answers a few questions to see whether the product is likely to meet that agreement’s rules of origin. DFAT publishes guidance on two of the ways originating status is claimed: Wholly Obtained (WO), and Change to Tariff Classification.
- Step 3
Get a certificate or declaration of origin
Different agreements ask for different proof. Most commonly a business gets a Certificate of Origin (COO) from an authorised certifying body; some agreements also let an importer, exporter or producer make a Declaration of Origin (DOO, or DO). The document identifies the goods and certifies that they meet the agreement’s rules of origin, and the importing country’s customs authority uses it, when the goods arrive, to decide whether the preferential tariff applies.
Among the agreements that require exporters to get a preferential COO from an authorised issuer, DFAT names “AANZFTA, ChAFTA, TAFTA, JAEPA, IA-CEPA, AI-ECTA and A-UAECEPA”. KAFTA and RCEP are among those where using an authorised issuer is optional. DFAT says authorised issuers hold accreditation under Australia’s Free Trade Agreement Certificate of Origin Recognition Scheme. DFAT’s page lists them, and points to the JASANZ Register for more about accredited issuers. Charges apply for a certificate and may vary between issuers.
- Step 4
Keep the evidence
The partner country’s customs authority has the right to ask for documents showing the goods qualify, and the evidence needed varies with how complex the product is. A declaration is not lighter on paperwork: “While a DOO does not require the issuance of a formal preferential Certificate of Origin, it still requires the same documentation to be retained and available for verification if requested by an importing customs authority.”
The agreements the ABF lists
The ABF’s free trade agreements page, read on 9 October 2026, lists fifteen bilateral agreements and four regional ones. It describes them plainly: “Free trade agreements provide a mechanism for the facilitation of trade in goods.”
| Kind | Agreements |
|---|---|
| Bilateral | ACl-FTA with Chile; A-HKFTA with Hong Kong, China; A-UKFTA with the United Kingdom; ANZCERTA with New Zealand; AUSFTA with the United States; CEPA with the United Arab Emirates; ChAFTA with China; ECTA with India; IA-CEPA with Indonesia; JAEPA with Japan; KAFTA with Korea; MAFTA with Malaysia; PAFTA with Peru; SAFTA Amendment Agreement with Singapore; and TAFTA with Thailand. |
| Regional | The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). |
Two details on that page are worth reading closely. The ABF and DFAT do not always use the same short name: the agreements with India and the United Arab Emirates are ECTA and CEPA on the ABF’s list, and AI-ECTA and A-UAECEPA on DFAT’s. And PACER Plus is not yet in force for Nauru, which the ABF marks with a note that the agreement “will enter into force for a party 60 days after they ratify the relevant agreement.”
When the goods are coming into Australia
The four steps above are written for the exporter, but an importer meets the same question from the other side. The ABF publishes separate guides for importers using free trade agreements and other preferential arrangements. It also offers written advice: on request, it will determine whether a good originates for the purposes of claiming a preference under one of Australia’s agreements. That advice is open, where appropriate, to Australian importers of the goods, and to the exporters and producers, or their authorised representatives, located in a country that is party to the agreement.
The preference is claimed on the declaration that clears the goods, which the guide to import declarations sets out; a licensed broker can lodge it, as the guide to customs brokers explains. For goods leaving Australia, the checks on controlled goods are in export permits for controlled goods.