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The Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement (A-EU FTA) will give Australian professionals greater access to the professional services market in the EU, Australia's fourth-biggest market for services exports. It will also make it easier for Australian professionals to provide services across multiple EU Member States.
More secure market access
The A-EU FTA enhances and locks in access for Australian professionals to work in the EU in sectors such as legal, accounting, architecture, engineering and health services. This means fewer regulatory burdens on Australian professionals working in the EU and greater certainty on meeting any EU requirements.
The A-EU FTA is futureproofed: if the EU provides more generous professional services market access for other countries, this will be extended to Australia.
Reducing red tape and regulatory requirements
The A-EU FTA will help reduce administrative requirements for professionals. It will create a streamlined process to recognise professional qualifications in both the EU and Australia.
Australia and the EU will explore greater use of temporary, limited and project-specific licensing or registration regimes. These types of licences are more flexible and generally involve fewer regulatory requirements on professionals.
Greater flexibility
The A-EU FTA will help Australian professionals to operate across the EU quicker and with more flexibility.
The EU has agreed that once one EU Member State recognises the qualifications of an Australian professional, the qualifications will be recognised by other EU Member States under internal EU rules. This means Australian professionals will no longer need to undergo a full qualification recognition process for each additional EU Member State where they seek to supply their services.
The EU has also agreed to tailor its education recognition requirements to accommodate Australia's higher education system. In addition to university degrees, the EU has agreed to accept bachelor's degrees (or higher) from institutes of higher education, for the purpose of granting temporary entry to Australian skilled professionals.