QPLC Arms Trade Report
Joint statement
Civil society calls for parliamentary review
Australia’s military trade is not transparent. Neither the public nor Parliament has enough information about what is exported, where it goes, or for what purpose. With exports rising and serious risks of breaches of international humanitarian law, 64 civil society organisations including ACTU, Amnesty, National Council of Churches Human Rights Law Centre, Jewish Council of Australia are calling for a parliamentary review to ensure accountability and compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty.
Report
QPLC Arms Trade Report
Read our new report examining transparency, licensing, and parliamentary oversight of Australia’s defence exports, and the steps needed to align practice with international humanitarian law.
Published Aug 2025 • 61 orgs endorsed
Watch the launch video
Recorded 27 Aug 2025 • AIIA Canberra • Hybrid
Quick links
Background
Why this report, why now?
In the last two years, Australian military exports — including to Israel — have faced intense scrutiny. Quakers Australia examined our export-control architecture and found that transparency mechanisms lag behind comparable countries, even as governments invest in growing exports. This raises serious questions for public and parliamentary accountability and for Australia’s leadership under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
Read the two-page executive summary (PDF).
Australia & the Arms Trade Treaty
Australia played a bipartisan leadership role in development of the Arms Trade Treaty. In 2006 Australia co-authored the UN resolution calling for the Treaty, and Peter Woolcott AO was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to steward the final negotiations adopted by the General Assembly in 2013. The ATT aims to set high global standards, stop illicit and diverted arms, and reduce human suffering.
Australia’s military industry is growing rapidly yet remains opaque. Different departments publish divergent data, and neither the public nor Parliament has clear visibility into what is exported, by whom, to where, or for what purpose. Australia helped champion the Arms Trade Treaty, but Australia's transparency falls short of comparable countries.
In relation to Australian military exports, there is no justification for the current level of secrecy, as practice amongst our allies clearly indicates.
Report Overview
Scope
Australia's military trade practices, including export and import systems, transparency, accountability, and international obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The document also reviews Australia's role in global arms exports and its impact on human rights.
Findings
Australia's military trade lacks meaningful transparency and accountability, and compares poorly to many European countries. Discrepancies exist in reporting export data between government departments.
Exports have been made to regimes with serious human rights concerns, raising questions about potential facilitation of human rights abuses.
Australia's ATT reports lack meaningful transparency compared to European counterparts.
Globally the ATT has failed to demonstrate any progress in reduce human suffering
Recommendations
- Add clear ethical rules to law and policy for all defence trade.
- Make export approvals transparent and explain decisions.
- Put DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) in charge end-to-end — from licensing to end-use checks.
- Give Parliament real oversight of permits and policy.
- Publish detailed, transaction-level data on all military imports and exports (including AUKUS-related trade).
- Use strong end-use monitoring — delivery-verification certificates and on-site checks.
- Assess risks under the Arms Trade Treaty (including risks of gender-based violence).
Read the full report for context and detailed recommendations.
Executive Summary
A concise two-page overview with key findings, and priority reforms for transparency and accountability in Australia’s military trade.Media Release
Read the media release for key findings, quotes, and launch details, including media contacts and links to the full report and the joint civil-society statement.
Contact
To learn more about the report—or to join the civil society statement—please contact the Quakers Australia
Peaceworker.