On April 7 2014, then Prime Minister Tony Abbot and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the conclusion of negotiations on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA).
This agreement was signed on 8 July 2014, and came into force on 15 January 2015.
A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to support the decision to endorse the signing of the JAEPA. As this regulatory change was assessed as being highly significant, the Government required a Post-implementation Review (PIR) to be completed within five years of the agreement being implemented.
In line with these requirements, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade submitted a PIR of the JAEPA to Office of Best Practice Regulation in December 2019, ahead of the January 2020 deadline. The PIR was assessed as compliant by Office of Best Practice Regulation.
The PIR shows JAEPA has, to date, met its broad objective of expanding economic opportunities for Australian businesses and consumers through a closer economic partnership with Japan, and that its implementation has been effective and efficient.
The overall conclusion is that JAEPA has delivered a net benefit in the five years since its entry into force, and will continue to do so in the future with the ongoing implementation of the Agreement.