Review of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP)
Submission Date: 26 October 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 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (the Agreement or ‘RCEP’).
RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA) by the combined gross domestic product of its members. Parties to the Agreement include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Article 20.8 of RCEP mandates a General Review five years after the Agreement’s entry into force. The Review provides an opportunity to ensure the Agreement remains relevant to the trade and investment issues and challenges confronting the Parties.
This submission principally addresses the Law Council’s priorities with respect to trade in legal services under RCEP, many of which were raised in the Law Council’s recent submissions to DFAT as part of its Southeast Asia Free Trade Agreements Modernisation Review,1 and General Reviews of the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Indonesia–Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.2
This submission also provides comments and a recommendation in relation to the incorporation of human rights, labour and environmental standards in the Agreement.
1 Law Council of Australia, Southeast Asia Free Trade Agreements Modernisation Review (Submission, 22 January 2026).
2 See Law Council of Australia, General review of the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement (Submission, 1 April 2026); and Law Council of Australia, General review of the Indonesia–Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Submission, 1 April 2026).
Last Updated on 29/10/2026
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