Australian exporters

Trade services

Austrade’s trade services help Australian businesses expand in overseas markets. We help businesses:

• assess market potential
• develop export strategies
• find valuable contacts overseas.

Some businesses can also access financial assistance.

You must have an Australian Business Number (ABN) to work with Austrade as an Australian business. To access some of our services, we may need more information from you before we deliver the service.

Here are some of the trade services we provide.

Getting ready to export

We can provide specific advice that helps businesses get ready to export. This includes:

• determining export readiness
• developing an export strategy
• assessing market potential.

Making the right connections

We help businesses better understand their target markets and achieve export success. We use our extensive global network to build helpful connections. This includes:

• introductions to in-market service providers, such as law, tax and accounting services
• facilitating business matching
• organising in-market experiences.

Providing support in-market

We offer hands-on support. We do this in response to specific client needs in unique market conditions. We provide:

• practical assistance such as visa letters of support and certification of export documents
• promotional activities that raise a client’s profile
• troubleshooting for specific problems, such as market access barriers.

We have advisers in Australia and in around 65 international offices who deliver our services. To answer your questions on export potential and discover the right services for you, contact an Austrade industry specialist.

We also work with trade support in states and territories. Find a TradeStart adviser near you.

Go Global Toolkit

Our Go Global Toolkit is designed to help Australian businesses at every stage of their export journey including:

• export guides for Australian businesses
• laws and regulations in your target markets
• tools to help you find export markets and check your readiness to export.

Export Market Development Grants

Our Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program helps Australian businesses grow their exports in international markets. These grants encourage small to medium enterprises to market and promote their goods and services globally.

Free trade agreements

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are treaties between 2 or more countries. They facilitate stronger trade and commercial links between the countries involved.

First Nations traders

First Nations are our first traders. If you're a First Nations business, we can support you in your global trade and investment ambitions.

Other trade support

We administer, with the Australian Tax Office, some tax exemptions for approved overseas projects. These make Australia's bids for international tenders more competitive.

Australian businesses operating in international markets need to be aware of their obligations under Australian and foreign law. Bribery of foreign public officials is a serious crime under Australian law, punishable by fines and imprisonment. We provide advice and governance on what businesses should do to avoid bribery of foreign public officials.

Meeting responsible business standards 

Austrade is committed to reducing abuses of human rights, modern slavery, money-laundering and bribery in domestic and overseas markets.

All organisations operating in Australia or overseas should be aware of and adhere to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The Guidelines provide principles and standards for responsible business behaviour, consistent with applicable domestic laws. The Guidelines are endorsed and promoted by the Australian Government.

Before engaging in any overseas markets, all organisations should conduct thorough due diligence to ensure that their employees, contractors, suppliers, partner organisations, or any other third parties are all meeting the responsible business standards expected by the OECD.