The Singapore‑Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was signed by the Minister for Trade, the Hon. Mark Vaile and his Singaporean counterpart, the Minister for Trade and Industry George Yeo on 17 February 2003 in Singapore.
SAFTA entered into force on 28 July 2003.
Agreement to Amend the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement
The Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP and his Singaporean counterpart, the Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Lim Hng Kiang, signed the Agreement to Amend the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (the SAFTA Amendment Agreement) on 13 October 2016 in Canberra, Australia.
The SAFTA Amendment Agreement entered into force on 1 December 2017.
The SAFTA Amendment Agreement introduced new rules of origin for goods that are determined to be Singaporean Originating Goods. These are provided for in Division 1BA of Part VIII of the
Customs Act 1901.
Key changes made by the SAFTA Amendment Agreement were the:
- introduction of new rules of origin for goods traded between Australia and Singapore
- introduction of product-specific rules schedule for goods
- introduction of easier procedures for claiming preferential tariff treatment for Singaporean originating goods
- provision of duty-free access for Singaporean originating goods (except for excise equivalent goods).
The SAFTA Amendment Agreement provided a three year transition period to move to the new rules of origin. This gave importers time to adjust their supply chains and ensured they were not disadvantaged.
Goods imported after 1 December 2020 cannot use the rules of origin provided for under former Division 1B of Part VIII of the
Customs Act 1901 to claim preferential rates of customs duty under the original SAFTA.
The SAFTA, including the SAFTA Amendment Agreement, can be found at
Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
