The Australia Papua New Guinea Economic Partnership (APEP) is an eight-year, multi-sectoral investment which commenced in April 2022. APEP is delivered as part of the broader Australia Papua New Guinea Partnership which brings strong alignment and integration with the development priorities of the government of Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

APEP will work collaboratively with other Australian investments and development partners, to deliver impactful and sustainable development outcomes across five key engagement areas:

• EOPO 1 - Safeguarding Macroeconomic Stability
• EOPO 2 - Strengthening Public Financial Management for Improved Service Delivery and Inclusive Growth
• EOPO 3 - Supporting More Efficient and Inclusive Markets
• EOPO 4 - Fostering Inclusive Growth and Expanded Livelihoods
• EOPO 5 - Catalysing Economic Research and Dialogue.

Gender equality, disability, social inclusion (GEDSI) and women’s economic empowerment (WEE) are central to APEP and integrated across all engagement areas and activities. cross-cutting themes are climate and ensuring the perspectives of First Nations Australians are embedded into APEP planning and implementation.

Regular reflection, reporting, learning, and adaptation are applied to all engagement areas through APEP’s MERLA system.

The Australia Papua New Guinea Economic Partnership (APEP) is an eight-year, multi-sectoral investment which commenced in April 2022. APEP is delivered as part of the broader Australia Papua New Guinea Partnership which brings strong alignment and integration with the development priorities of the government of Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

APEP will work collaboratively with other Australian investments and development partners, to deliver impactful and sustainable development outcomes across five key engagement areas:

• EOPO 1 - Safeguarding Macroeconomic Stability
• EOPO 2 - Strengthening Public Financial Management for Improved Service Delivery and Inclusive Growth
• EOPO 3 - Supporting More Efficient and Inclusive Markets
• EOPO 4 - Fostering Inclusive Growth and Expanded Livelihoods
• EOPO 5 - Catalysing Economic Research and Dialogue.

Gender equality, disability, social inclusion (GEDSI) and women’s economic empowerment (WEE) are central to APEP and integrated across all engagement areas and activities. cross-cutting themes are climate and ensuring the perspectives of First Nations Australians are embedded into APEP planning and implementation.

Regular reflection, reporting, learning, and adaptation are applied to all engagement areas through APEP’s MERLA system.

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe.  We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of more than 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.  We are seeking a Localisation and Sustainability Advisor for the IFTAEC Program, which can be on a fully remote basis across the Asia Pacific region. 

Australia based; Canberra preferred

About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by both the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. It assists ASEAN Member States (AMS) in meeting their commitments and realising the advantages offered by the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

Also operating under RT4D is the Trade and Gender Equality Incubator (TGEI), an initiative funded by the Australian Government. The incubator tests ideas and methods, drawing on promising examples, that integrate gender in trade policy, technical cooperation, and development programming.

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 48.7 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28.

Project Summary

The RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), implemented RT4D Facility, aims to support AMS to realise the full benefits of RCEP through the provision of capacity-building support and access to technical expertise.

The following project is approved under RISP.

• Project Name: Study on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform – Introducing Safeguards in Modern Investment Agreements
• Project Objective: The project addresses the AANZFTA Committee on Investment’s (COI) Sectoral Strategic Directions Priorities Document (SSDP) to ‘Progress in Advancing the Work Programme for the Upgrade AANZFTA Investment Chapter’ and in particular, the COI Work Programme activity to review Section B (Investment Disputes between a Party and an Investor) of the Upgraded AANZFTA. It aims to support AANZFTA Parties’ consideration of modern ISDS safeguards included in recent agreements and ISDS reforms discussed in international fora, in the context of the review of the AANZFTA ISDS provisions. The project is designed with the following objectives:

o Provide AANZFTA Parties with the latest discussions and outcomes on ISDS reform in other fora.

o Enhance AANZFTA Parties’ understanding of the safeguards to protect governments’ right to regulate as introduced in newer International Investment Agreements (IIAs), and its usage under arbitration cases.

o Align AANZFTA Parties’ understanding on the potential benefits of introducing safeguards to the current ISDS provisions under the AANZFTA.

o Provide recommendations for AANZFTA Parties on the potential modern ISDS safeguard elements that are suitable to be considered for inclusion under the AANZFTA ISDS review.