Treaties Committee to consider Australia-Timor-Leste Defence Cooperation Agreement

The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will hold a public hearing into the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Cooperation in the Field of Defence and the Status of Visiting Forces.

Committee Chair, Mr Josh Wilson MP said: “This treaty would establish a legally binding framework to facilitate mutually beneficial defence cooperation activities between Australia and Timor-Leste.”

The treaty, which also contains status of forces provisions, would enable Australia to participate more frequently in bilateral military activities with Timor-Leste. This would allow Australia and Timor-Leste to expand their defence cooperation into areas such as maritime operations, joint and unilateral training, logistics support, and international humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The Committee will take evidence from officials from the Department of Defence and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Public hearing details

Date: Monday, 19 June 2023

Time: 10.00am

Location: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House

The hearing can be accessed online and the program for this hearing is available on the Committee website, along with further information about the inquiries.

/Public Release. View in full here.