Current Policy Priorities

The Voice of Australia’s Exporters

The Export Council of Australia (ECA) is the only membership body in Australia focused on the needs of companies involved in international business.

One of the key benefits of membership is our ability to influence policy to make it simpler and cheaper for you to do business internationally.

The ECA is a respected and influential voice on trade policy. Our strong relationships with key ministers, shadow ministers and senior public servants help us shape policy in a way that benefits our members and Australia’s international business community.

Each year, the ECA releases annual Trade Policy Recommendations for the Australian Government. These recommendations are driven by the needs of our members. They are developed in consultation with members, industry, and the ECA’s network of trade policy experts.

The ECA also makes submissions to parliamentary and other inquiries that relate to international business.

In addition to the federal government, we regularly engage with state, territory and local governments, as well as foreign governments, to advance the interests of our members.

2018 policy recommendations

This year our Trade Policy Recommendations focused on ways to get SMEs exporting more.

SMEs account for 14% of Australia’s exports. In G7 countries, they account for 25%. There’s no reason for Australian SMEs to be that far behind. Lifting SME exports to 25% of Australia’s exports would increase our GDP by $36 billion.

We’ve made recommendations to help get more SMEs involved in trade and make it easier for those already exporting.

We want more SMEs to realise they have what it takes to export, and make it easier for them to find the right help. We want experienced exporters to be able to share their knowledge with businesses starting out.

We want lower costs for export documentation, including by updating EXDOCs to cover processed food. We want measures to address the rising costs of shipping. We want to see the government start moving on the single window for trade that it has promised.

We want a way to share knowledge about the best trade shows, and the ones to avoid. We want the government to adequately fund EMDG and the new national brand.

Most importantly, we want to work with government on a national strategy to encourage more SMEs into international trade.

If you want to support the ECA in breaking down barriers to export, click here to become a member.

You can read our 2018 Trade Policy Recommendations here.

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Leandra Coffey, Director, Fruity Sacks
Member of the ECA

“Our business is about making it easy for people to make environmentally friendly choices. We are looking to expand into new overseas markets and the ECA have been a huge help in this endeavour. The ECA have given us introductions to key businesses that can help us in the markets we are looking at, and their workshops and seminars on topics relevant to exporting were extremely useful. All up, our association with the ECA has been a great asset to Fruity Sacks.”

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