Our History

For 60 years, the Australian Institute of Export (AIEx) has provided practical education and training, advice and advocacy to the Australian export community. In 2013, following extensive consultation with our stakeholders, an evolution came about, resulting in the AIEx becoming the education division of the newly-founded Export Council of Australia (ECA).

Background of the AIEx

Established in 1957, the AIEx quickly became Australia’s leading provider of education and training in international trade. Through practical education and training, AIEx assisted many thousands of companies to develop and grow business skills in international trade.

Training programmes:

• Export Procedures & Documentation
  
• Import Procedures & Documentation
  
• Understanding Documentary Credits
  
• Online import and export courses
  
• International Trade Law & IP
  
• Distance delivered accredited international trade courses
  
• Advanced Diploma in International Business Management 

International trade publications:

• The Australian Export Handbook: now in its 21st Edition
  
• The Australian Import Handbook: 1 edition
  
• International Trade Procedures Guidelines: 1 edition
  

The evolution

Recognising the changing needs of the Australian international business community, the AIEx underwent an evolution and is now a brand under the ECA. Over the past three years, the ECA increasingly focussed on developing practical programmes and creating business tools that build the capability and capacity of Australian companies to grow internationally.

Australia has recently signed three free trade agreements, with Japan, South Korea and China, bringing the total number of trade agreements to 10. These agreements lower tariffs but still leave market entry questions for many businesses.

The challenge is: how in Australia can we capitalise on these market opportunities and support Australian companies to take advantage of international opportunities?

To meet this challenge, and learning from independent analysis showing the success of similar programmes in the UK and the USA, the ECA has recently invested in creating a range of new programmes that encourage more companies to actively pursue international opportunities and offer accessible and affordable support to help them.

For further information, please visit the Skills Development section of our website.