You can take action to urge the government to remove ISDS from existing agreements and to support international cooperation to end ISDS by:
Signing our petition
Sending a message to your MP
Sharing our explainer leaflet
Some international trade agreements allow foreign investors to sue the Australian government if a change in law or policy reduces their profits, even if the change protects public health or the environment. The process, known as Investor-State Dispute Settlement or ISDS, enables foreign investors to bypass national courts and sue governments for billions of dollars in secretive international tribunals. Labor’s policy is to exclude ISDS from future trade agreements and review it in existing agreements, partly inspired by its experience of being sued by the Philip Morris Tobacco Company over its 2012 plain packaging law.
The removal of ISDS from agreements has become more urgent because Australian billionaire Clive Palmer registered his mining company in Singapore, has claimed to be a Singapore investor and sued the Australian government in four separate cases. The first claim was for $300 billion after he lost a High Court appeal against a Western Australian government decision to refuse an iron ore mining license. The last three claims for $120 billion are because a Queensland Court refused his coal mining license and a license for a coal-fired power plant for environmental reasons, including increased carbon emissions. The tribunal in the first case found that Palmer was not a Singaporean investor, but he is challenging the decision on technical gounds and his other three coal-related cases are proceeding.
Palmer’s cases are just one example of a growing global list of ISDS cases from fossil fuel companies against government decisions to reduce carbon emissions, and Australia could face more cases from fossil fuel companies. A recent United Nations Report concluded that ISDS is a “major obstacle” to the urgent actions needed to address the climate crisis.
Our petition asks the Trade Minister to implement Labor policy to exclude ISDS from future trade agreements and speed up its review of existing agreements with a clear timetable. You can donate to the campaign here.
August 31, 2026: A new article written by Adjunct Professor and former ambassador Anna George and published by the Australian Institute of International Affairs highlights the critical challenge of ensuring the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex in the WHO’s Pandemic Preparedness Agreement delivers genuine equity.
August 27, 2026: Most Pacific Island countries have rejected deep sea mining because of its environmental impacts on fragile marine environments. As some Pacific governments consider whether to allow deep-sea mining, a new report by the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), Undermining Sovereignty: De-Risking the Pacific from Investor-State Disputes in Deep-Sea Mining, examines what the threat of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) means for Pacific Island countries.
August 20, 2026: AFTINET joined more than 70 civil society organisations across Southeast Asia in calling on governments to keep the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism out of the upcoming review of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), warning that ISDS undermines governments’ ability to pursue a just energy transition. Over 80 organisations also called for ISDS to be removed from the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (ANNZFTA) which is also being reviewed.
August 13, 2026: The Swiss Federal Court has now published the decision in which it dismissed a technical challenge lodged by Australian billionaire Clive Palmers company Zeph Investments against the September 2025 ISDS tribunal award . The tribunal had declined jurisdiction over Zeph’s claims under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand free trade agreement (AANZFTA).
This decision confirms that Palmer is not a foreign investor and could not claim $300 billion over a disputed Western Australian iron ore mining license which he lost in the High Court. The decision confirms that he must pay the Australian government’s ISDS tribunal legal costs of $13.6 million. However, this is only the first of four claims Palmer has made against the government and three other claims totalling $120 billion are still on foot unless he withdraws them.
August 7, 2026: The Swiss Federal Supreme court has rejected Australian billionaire Clive Palmer’s last ditch attempt to annul an international tribunal decision that found he was not a foreign investor and could not claim $300 billion over a disputed Western Australian iron ore mining license which he lost in the High Court. The Swiss court decision confirms that he must pay the Australian government’s international tribunal legal costs of $13.6 million. But this is only the first of four claims Palmer has made against the government and three other claims totalling $120 billion are still on foot unless he withdraws them.
August 4, 2026: A new Public Citizen analysis finds that pathogen-sharing agreements signed by the Trump administration with African states would weaken a central principle of the emerging global pandemic response framework; that countries contributing vital virus samples and information should share in the benefits.
July 28, 2026: Latrobe University Professor Deborah Gleeson explained in an interview with ABC TV news show The World what is behind the US Trump administration and Pharma companies’ attacks on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and why the government should resist them.
See the full interview here.
July 24, 2026: The Office of the US Trade Representative announced that the US will implement a 10-12.5% tariffs on 60 countries, including Australia, from today after a hurried investigation found that they had not taken effective action to reduce forced labour in their supply chains, creating unfair competition with US products. These tariffs will replace temporary tariffs due to expire on July 24.
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