The Australian Community Manual explains using the Australia-US Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty (the Treaty) for both industry and the Australian Government.

Australian Community Manual (PDF, 1.25 MB)

Accessing Treaty articles

Australian Community member personnel that require access to Treaty articles must be Australian citizens. They must also hold a minimum of a current, active Australian Government Security Vetting Agency baseline security clearance. For a third country national (who is not also an Australian citizen) to access Treaty articles, they must have specific authorisation from both the Australia and the Government of the United States of America.

Members may be required to obtain and manage security clearances for personnel based on the Treaty article’s classification level. A minimum of Defence Industry Security Program (DISP) personnel level 1 membership will be required to be able to sponsor security clearances.

All personnel should be checked for indicators of significant ties during the employment screening process, such as connections proscribed under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) 126.1. Should ties be identified, the personnel are to be vetted to a minimum of Negative Vetting 1.

Transitioning an article into the Treaty

Most articles will be transitioned into the Treaty by the United States Community members before being exported to Australia. Australian Community members will only be required to transition articles into the treaty for articles that:

  • have already been exported from the United States under existing ITAR arrangements
  • are already within Australia.

Members should check if the article has been transitioned into the Treaty. An Approved Community member who supplied an article can validate whether that article has already been transitioned into the Treaty.

Applications to transition articles

Seek written approval to make a transition from the requirements of an existing United States export license or other authorisation. This form is available via the Treaty tile on the MADE portal landing page.

Treaty articles must be listed in Part 1 of the Defense Trade Cooperation Munitions List and be in support of an activity contained in the Treaty's scope.

The transition application, including supporting documents, will be assessed by Defence. A notice will be provided to the applicant if the application is approved. Articles already in Australia cannot be transferred under the Treaty arrangements until this notice has been received.

Transitioning an article out of the Treaty

Any item transitioned out of the Treaty must be covered under an existing or new ITAR agreement or licence, or otherwise be eligible to be managed under an alternative ITAR exemption.

As advised by Defence Trade Controls (DTC) in November 2025, Treaty articles may be transitioned to management under the ITAR 126.7 exemption without seeking approval from the International Export Control Treaty Team or DTC, provided all of the following criteria are met:

  • The articles are managed under the Treaty at the time of transition.
  • The articles have been self-certified as eligible and are not listed in Supplement Number 2 to Part 126 – Excluded Technology List.
  • The exemption is utilised between approved ITAR 126.7 authorised users only.
  • The transfer or re-transfer articles is within the physical territories of Australia, UK or US only.

The ITAR 126.7 exemption also includes requirements for recordkeeping and non-transfer/use certification and requires the replacement of Treaty markings with appropriate ITAR markings. Once an article has been transitioned to the ITAR 126.7 exemption, it cannot be transitioned back into the Treaty.

When transitioning an article out of the Treaty, an Australian Community member must:

  • If working with a Defence program or project, seek concurrence with the intent to transition the article before proceeding.
  • Record the self‑certified transition of any article transitioned out of the Treaty.

Transporting Treaty articles

Australian Community members must use approved intermediate consignees to transport Treaty articles to other approved members in Australia and United States. Members must refer to the Defence Protective Security Framework (Principle 71) for advice on transporting any classified treaty articles.

Marking requirements for treaty articles are listed in the Defence Trade Controls Regulation 2013.

Facilities

A facility is a space where articles may be stored, handled or manufactured. This could be a section of a warehouse or a room in an office used for preparing tenders. Facilities must comply with the following requirements:

  • The facility must be accredited by Defence as suitable for the storage, handling or manufacturing of Treaty articles.
  • Facilities must be accredited to the appropriate standard commensurate to the classification of the Treaty article to be stored or handled at the facility.
  • Facilities will be assessed in accordance with the requirements of zone 2 of the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework, Physical Security Management Guidelines - Security Zones and Risk Mitigation Control Measures.
  • The minimum DISP physical security level required for Australian Community members is level 1.
  • The approval process for a Defence owned or Defence establishment located facility requires the provision of a letter from the respective Defence facility representative.
  • A new or additional Treaty request form needs to be completed to obtain additional facility approval. This form is available via the Treaty tile on the MADE portal landing page.

An Approved Australian Community member or new applicant must still obtain DISP membership even if they use a facility from another Australian Community member. The requirement for DISP physical security accreditation may be lowered to entry level in this case if they are using this facility exclusively for Treaty activities. This exception is considered on a case-by-case basis.

Destruction of Treaty articles

United States Community members may advise Australian members that a Treaty article in their possession must be destroyed because it is obsolete. The destruction of a Treaty article is considered a change in end-use and requires separate United States approval.

This approval can be sourced via a general correspondence letter to the United States Department of State, under the provisions of ITAR 123.9 retransfer, detailing the disposal method and entity conducting the disposal.

Third party retransfer

Where Treaty articles need to be retransferred to a third party, the articles will need to be transitioned out of the Treaty and exported under existing export controls.

Please contact the Treaty team by email for further information.