Australia and New Zealand

Foreign investment in general, and investor-State dispute settlement in particular, together form one of the most controversial aspects of the trade and investment law regimes in both Australia and New Zealand. The chapter outlines core aspects of Australia and New Zealand’s international investment agreements (IIAs), taking account of the traditional approaches in bilateral investment agreements (BITs) as well as the more modern approaches in investment chapters of preferential trade agreements. In doing so, the chapter identifies patterns and developments over time and assesses the extent to which the negotiators of both countries have drafted these treaties so as to protect their governments’ regulatory sovereignty with respect to matters such as public health and other non-trade/investment policy objectives. Therefore, first Australia and New Zealand’s IIA provisions are reviewed in respect of three key substantive investment obligations, then the two main types of ‘exceptions’ to investment obligations and ISDS.