← Back to bills❌This bill did not pass parliament28 Oct 2021
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🏛 House of Representatives3 readingsAmendments circulated
Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Equity Investments and Other Measures) 2021
✦ Plain-English Summary
# Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment Bill 2021
## What it does
The Australian government's export finance agency (EFIC) can now invest directly in overseas companies and projects, not just lend money to them. This change lets EFIC take a stake or ownership position in foreign ventures, alongside its traditional role of providing loans and insurance for Australian exporters.
## Why it matters
By taking equity stakes, EFIC can support Australian businesses in bigger, riskier projects abroad—particularly in infrastructure—where traditional loans alone won't cut it. This potentially opens doors for Australian companies competing for large international deals, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
## Key details
- **What changes**: EFIC can now make "equity investments" (buying shares/stakes) in overseas projects, not just provide loans. The law tweaks several definitions to clarify this new power.
- **When it starts**: The day the bill received royal assent (it's already passed Parliament).
- **Who's affected**: Australian exporters and infrastructure companies will have access to a new financing tool; EFIC gains broader powers to support them internationally.
Official Description
Amends the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act 1991 to: enable Export Finance Australia to make equity investments, including to support infrastructure investments in the Indo-Pacific or export-linked projects in Australia; and provide Export Finance Australia with the ability to offer guarantees for overseas infrastructure transactions without also needing to provide a loan to the same transaction.
Committee Referrals
Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee
Audit History
Last updated on APH
10 Apr 2026
Last checked by Crossbench
2 days ago
Full text indexed
2 days ago
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