Human Rights Media Releases

‘Red Lines’ bills hit Parliament as allies move to cut trade with illegal Israeli settlements

15.09.26

A major package of legislation introduced into Federal Parliament today would put binding legal limits on Australian weapons, public money, investment and trade being used to support genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and illegal occupation. The four-part Red Lines Package is being introduced across both houses of Parliament by Dr Sophie Scamps MP and Senator David Pocock, with the legislation co-sponsored by Senators Lidia Thorpe, Mehreen Faruqi and Fatima Payman and Andrew Wilkie.

The legislation lands at a critical moment. The UK, France and Canada have committed to banning trade in goods and associated services from illegal Israeli settlements, as a wider group of 12 countries moves towards trade restrictions, increasing pressure on Australia to move beyond condemnation and put its international law commitments into action.

But the Red Lines Package is deliberately broader. It establishes universal legal safeguards that apply wherever there is a serious risk of Australian weapons, money, investment or trade contributing to genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or illegal occupation. The principle is not country-specific: the same legal red lines should apply consistently, regardless of where abuses occur or which Government is responsible.

Backed by a broad alliance of parliamentarians, leading legal experts and civil society organisations, including Amnesty International Australia, the Association for the Promotion of International Law, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, Jewish Council of Australia, Oxfam Australia, ActionAid Australia, Liberty Victoria’s Rights Advocacy Project, Australian Muslim Advocacy Network and Muslim Aid Australia, the bills would establish enforceable safeguards across four areas where Australia currently relies heavily on government policy and ministerial discretion: defence exports, public investment, trade with illegally occupied territories, and the prevention of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The package comes as the genocide in Gaza, accelerating settlement expansion and displacement across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and atrocities in conflicts including Sudan and Yemen have brought renewed scrutiny to the role governments, companies and public institutions can play through weapons, investment and trade. The choice for Australia is increasingly stark: continue relying on political discretion and lag behind the rest of the world in fulfilling our obligations under international law, or to have the courage to live up to our principles and put clear enforceable, red lines into Australian law. The principle at the heart of the four bills is simple and universal: Australia should never arm, fund, invest in or profit from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or illegal occupation anywhere in the world.

Australia is bound by key treaties including the Genocide Convention, Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Arms Trade Treaty. Furthermore, the right of peoples to self-determination, the prohibition of racial discrimination, and the rule that territory cannot be acquired by force are rules no State may set aside – and no State may recognise or help another State to breach them.

Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs AC, Key Note speaker, former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission and former UN Assistant Secretary General:

“It is one thing for nations to sign human rights treaties on the international stage. It is quite another to enforce their legal obligations under domestic laws. While Australia has been a global leader in promoting international human rights law, it has been slow to legislate to enforce its treaty obligations in practice. The Red Line Package is a groundbreaking initiative to prohibit arming, funding, investing in or profiting from acts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or illegal occupation wherever they occur in the world.”

Robert Richter KC, Panel speaker at the launch and eminent lawyer and human rights advocate:

“Because of Australian legal and constitutional structure, it is clear that for the development of rules-based and enforceable obligations, International Law needs to be domesticated by complementary Australian legislation allowing for implementation and enforcement within Australian Jurisdiction. These involve complex and technical legal issues and what the package of Bills to be presented seeks to do is to ensure that real and tangible impact is not left to arbitrary political and unexaminable decisions.”

 

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network. Vice-President, Hiba Farra

“At the very moment other countries are moving to cut trade with illegal Israeli settlements, Australia has chosen not to follow. That decision exposes the deeper problem these bills confront: when the stakes are genocide, war crimes and illegal occupation, political discretion is not a safeguard. Australia needs binding red lines across weapons, public money, investment and trade. No government should have the discretion to allow Australian resources to arm, finance or profit from the gravest violations of international law.”

Oxfam Australia Chief Executive, Jennifer Tierney:

“Australia cannot stand for international law while allowing its weapons, money or trade to contribute to its violation. We need clear legal safeguards to ensure Australia is not complicit in genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity, and that these protections cannot be weakened by political discretion.”

Amnesty International Australia National Director, Sam Klintworth:

“The gulf between Australia’s international human rights obligations and our domestic laws is unacceptably wide in so many areas. It is time to ensure that Australia’s conduct in the world reflects our long-standing commitments under human rights treaties, and our rhetoric on the global stage.”

ActionAid Australia Executive Director, Michelle Higelin:

“We want to see the Australian Government put its commitments into action – that’s what this Red Lines legislation is about. Australia has a responsibility under international law to prevent genocide, ethnic cleansing and other atrocities, but none of that means anything unless it takes the crucial step of aligning our domestic laws with these commitments, to remove the loopholes and make sure that successive Australian governments are held to this standard.”

Muslim Aid Australia Chief Executive, Ahmad Malas:

“For almost three years, Australians have watched children buried beneath rubble, families starved, hospitals bombed, and aid blocked – and asked how this can continue. The answer is that our laws still leave room for governments to look away. Australia must ensure that its own laws never allow us to arm, fund, or profit from atrocities abroad, no matter who commits them.”

Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association President, Ramila Chanisheff:

“The Australian Uyghur community urges the immediate passage of all four Red Line bills. At a time when communities affected by atrocity crimes are looking to democratic nations for leadership, Australia must ensure its laws prevent complicity in serious human rights violations and uphold the principles of international justice.”

Australian Uyghur Association President, Bahtiyar Bora:

“The Australian Uyghur Association strongly supports the immediate passage of all four Red Line bills. For Uyghurs, the consequences of atrocity crimes, forced labour and systematic repression are not abstract—they affect our families and our community directly. Australia must ensure that its laws, trade, and investments never contribute to genocide, crimes against humanity or other grave human rights abuses. These bills are an important step toward ensuring that Australia stands firmly on the side of human dignity, accountability, and international justice.”

Australian Muslim Advocacy Network, Chair, Dr Mustafa Ally OAM

“The existing sanctions framework is important but as we have seen in the past few years, it is not enough. This package is needed to build back trust in our public institutions and ensure that the failures of the past few years are never repeated.”

Jewish Council of Australia Executive Officer, Bart Shteinman:

“From Australia to Palestine, Sudan or Yemen, Jewish Australians know that our safety is bound up with safety and justice for all peoples in all places – without exception. Many of us have ancestors who were persecuted or murdered while the international community stood by or acted too late. Ensuring our domestic laws match our international obligations is the right thing to do to protect human rights everywhere. It’s long past time for our political leaders to legislate their red lines and make sure our country is never contributing to genocide, war crimes, or illegal occupation.”

Background

  • Defence Trade Controls Amendment (War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide) Bill 2026 aims to strengthen Australia’s defence export controls to prevent Australian defence goods, technology and services from contributing to genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. It would close critical gaps in Australia’s existing controls and strengthen Australia’s implementation of its obligations under international law.
  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Divesting from Illegal Investments) Bill 2026 aims to prevent public funds, superannuation entities and charities from investing in companies involved in expanding illegal settlements, illegal settlement activity or activities carrying a risk of contributing to genocide.
  • Genocide Reporting, Prevention, and Restitution Bill 2026 aims to establish Australia’s first comprehensive genocide prevention framework, including stronger transparency and reporting requirements. The Bill seeks to move Australia from a reactive approach to genocide towards proactive prevention, including measures to ensure Australian institutions do not contribute to or benefit from genocide in their value chains or operations.
  • Occupied Territories Bill 2026 aims to prohibit the importation and trade of goods and services originating from occupied territories and strengthen Australia’s compliance with international law, including the duty of non-recognition of unlawful territorial acquisition. The Bill would also prevent economic activity that contributes to unlawful occupation, settlement expansion and resource exploitation.

The four bills seek to move beyond statements of principle and establish concrete legal mechanisms to prevent Australia’s involvement in atrocity crimes and unlawful occupation.