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General review of the Indonesia–Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

Submission Date: 1 April 2026

The Law Council of Australia provided a submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to support the General Review of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA).

Indonesia is a jurisdiction of particular interest to the Australian legal profession due to its economic profile and the breadth of the trading relationship between Australia and Indonesia.1

Several Australian law firms (or global law firms with Australian offices) have close and longstanding relationships with Indonesian law firms, including through the secondment of senior lawyers to local law firms in Indonesia.2

Australian lawyers in Indonesia are generally not seeking to practise Indonesian law or represent clients before Indonesian courts. Instead, Australian lawyers and law firms are primarily interested in providing fully integrated commercial legal services to corporate clients and financial institutions.

A framework that permits Australian and Indonesian lawyers to work together in close commercial association will ensure the availability of fully integrated legal services that includes both domestic and foreign law components. In addition to reducing cost for clients, such a framework would play a significant role in providing the levels of confidence that major domestic and foreign investors take into consideration when making significant investment decisions.

Indonesia presently remains one of the most restrictive jurisdictions for trade in legal services in Southeast Asia, and by international standards. Australian lawyers can presently provide some services, however restrictions apply to the way that these services are provided.

Only lawyers with a degree from an Indonesian law school and Indonesian citizenship are eligible to obtain a right to practise Indonesian domestic law or establish law offices. A foreign lawyer may operate as a legal consultant employed by an Indonesian law practice. However, they are not permitted to advise on Indonesian local law.

Additional barriers include restrictions on foreign firms establishing a commercial presence in Indonesia, ratios and caps that limit the number of foreign lawyers working in Indonesian firms, and restrictions on foreign lawyers moving between firms.

The Law Council has previously made several submissions to DFAT on trade in legal services with Indonesia—both prior to and following the conclusion of the IA-CEPA.3 This includes the Law Council’s recent submission to DFAT as part of its Southeast Asian FTA modernisation review.4

In conjunction with that review, the Law Council received grant funding from the Commonwealth Government to undertake an analysis of barriers to trade in legal services in Southeast Asia and develop a strategy to address these barriers. This work reinforces a number of observations made by the Law Council in previous submissions.

As noted by DFAT, Australia’s FTAs are not static documents. They are implemented over time, and are subject to review to maximise the benefits they deliver.

The Law Council considers that IA-CEPA provides a platform through which Australia could seek further liberalisation of Indonesia’s legal services market, and discuss challenges relating to the implementation of existing commitments. The Law Council encourages the Australian Government to use the current IA-CEPA Review as an opportunity to consider practical measures to address the barriers identified in this submission.

1 See for example, Law Council of Australia, Legal Services Market Access under the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Submission, 19 October 2016).
2 Examples include TNB & Partners, in association with Norton Rose Fulbright, Oentoeng Suria & Partners, in association with Ashurst; Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung, in association with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer; HHP Law Firm, a member firm of the Baker & McKenzie Swiss Verein; and Ginting & Reksodiputro, in association with A&O Shearman.
3 See for example, Law Council of Australia, Legal Services Market Access under the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Submission, 19 October 2016).
4 Law Council of Australia, Southeast Asia Free Trade Agreements Modernisation Review (Submission, 22 January 2026).

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Last Updated on 10/04/2026

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