The Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement

To help ensure Australian businesses and consumers can continue to benefit from growing digital trade opportunities, on 6 August 2020, the then-Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham, and Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing, digitally signed the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA).

The DEA will upgrade the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) through a new Digital Economy chapter, which will provide modernised rules that will reduce trade barriers. These include:

Preventing unnecessary restrictions on the transfer and location of data
Improving protections for source code
New commitments on e-invoicing and e-payment frameworks
Enhancing business and consumer trust in digital trade
Cooperating in creating a safe online environment to protect citizens
A new commitment to improve the accessibility of publicly available, anonymised government information; and
Enhancing transparency between Australia and Singapore to make available measures related to the digital economy.

As part of the DEA, Australia and Singapore have signed a series of agency-level Memoranda of Understanding on areas including data innovation, artificial intelligence, e-invoicing, e-certification for agricultural exports and imports, trade facilitation, personal data protection, and digital identity.

Building on Australia’s relationship with Singapore as our largest trade and investment partner in ASEAN, this agreement will lead the way internationally in the digital economy.

Actions

1.1A

Government

Pursue high-quality digital trade liberalisation and facilitation rules

In progress

1.1C

Government

Continue to promote and support regulatory cooperation frameworks for trade in financial services

In progress

APEC setting best-practice standards and regulations

Australia is actively engaged in APEC. We lead and support initiatives that improve data and transparency, promote best-practice standards and regulation, and build capacity in the region.

Sounds Australia growing the digital footprint of Australian music

Music listening is becoming a digital-first experience, with 89 per cent of people using on-demand streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify to listen to music. Editorial playlists, often curated by the music streaming services themselves, are increasingly influencing which songs become global hits. As are podcasts and new social and content sharing applications like TikTok.

Amid these trends, Sounds Australia is developing new strategies to ensure Australian artists are in the global spotlight.