International relations

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (the Minister) has, by legislative instrument, designated persons and entities for targeted financial sanctions, declared persons for travel bans, and designated vessels as sanctioned vessels for Russia  (together, “listed”), under item 6A of regulation 6 (the Russia Criteria) and regulation 8 (the vessels criteria) of the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (the Regulations).

On 24 February 2026 the Foreign Minister announced  Australia had lowered the Oil Price Cap (OPC) applicable to maritime services provided in relation to Russian-origin crude oil from USD47.60 to USD44.10 per barrel.

The Australian Sanctions Office (ASO) has updated 5 guidance and advisory notes and released 1 new guidance note to assist the regulated community understand their sanctions obligations.

If you are hosting, or preparing to host a conference or an event in Australia with attendees from the following countries or entities that are subject to sanctions, you should consider risks associated with Australian sanctions laws.

This guidance note replaces 'Guidance Note - The Import, purchase and transport of transformed and de minimis quantities of Russia-origin petroleum gases, oil and refined petroleum products' published on 11 June 2025.

On the second commemoration of Alexei Navalny’s death in a Russian penal colony, we once again express our deepest condolences to his family.

I attach the updated Statement of Intent which sets out my intentions as Secretary regarding how the department proposes to meet the expectations set out in your Statement of Expectations and the priorities the department will observe in conducting its operations.

The attached updated Statement of Expectations outlines how I expect the department to contribute to the Government’s productivity objective through better balancing of risk mitigation with efficiency, growth and dynamism and considering the impact on productivity of its regulatory activities.

I attach the updated Statement of Intent which sets out my intentions as Director General ASNO regarding how my office proposes to meet the expectations set out in your Statement of Expectations and the priorities my office will observe in conducting its operations.