ABOUT THE EVENT
Building Australia’s Modern Trade Infrastructure
The Digital Trade Forum is a one-day, executive-level convening designed to accelerate Australia’s transition to modern, fully digital and interoperable trade infrastructure. The program brings together government agencies, industry leaders, financial institutions and global technology partners to address the standards, systems and capabilities required for a competitive, secure and digitally enabled trading nation.
The forum examines digital documentation, verifiable credentials, distributed ledger infrastructure, supply chain integrity, advanced settlement mechanisms, and the harmonisation of domestic frameworks with international standards. Through policy discussions, technical briefings and implementation case studies, the Forum establishes clear priorities for national alignment and sector-wide adoption.
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Standards Alignment
Australia’s digital trade capability must align with international frameworks, including MLETR and emerging global interoperability standards. Harmonisation enables secure, recognised, and frictionless cross-border trade.
Infrastructure Modernisation
Modern trade requires digital documentation, verifiable credentials, tokenised titles and advanced settlement systems. Strengthening national infrastructure positions Australia to compete in a fully digital global economy.
Regulatory & Governance Readiness
Clear, coordinated regulatory settings are essential for industry adoption and global trust. Australia’s competitiveness depends on robust governance, legal certainty and secure operational frameworks.
Implementation & Capacity Building
Digital trade transformation must be deployed at scale. This includes sector readiness, pilot programs, workforce capability uplift and practical pathways for adoption across supply chains, exporters and financial institutions.
AUSTRALIA’S DIGITAL TRADE IMPERATIVE
Australia is entering a decisive phase of its economic transformation. Global markets are shifting to digitally native trade systems, and countries that modernise quickly will define the future trading environment. Australia has the institutional capability, technical expertise and industry leadership required to meet this moment, but coordinated action is essential.
Australia's export strength, logistics footprint and innovation readiness create a strategic advantage in establishing the nation’s first fully digital end-to-end trade corridor. HopgoodGanim Lawyers, together with leading technology and industry partners, is advancing the legal, regulatory and commercial foundations required to support secure, scalable and internationally recognised digital trade.
Program Overview
Networking & Registration
Delegate arrival, housekeeping, accreditation and informal networking.
Welcome & Opening Address
Welcome address and outline of the strategic priorities for a 'Modern Australia' with digital, interoperable trade systems.
Advancing Australian Trade (Keynote Presentation)
From policy lag to leadership: Trade facilitation standards, the Web3 option, Simplified Trade System reforms, and positioning Australia as a digital trade leader.
Panel 1: MLETR Trade: What's a Digital World?
Examination of UNCITRAL's Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records in advancing tech-agnostic, legal digital documents for cross-border commerce and finance.
Panel 2: Payments & Banking, in Real-Time
Learn how the implementation of emerging technologies is reshaping payments and banking, creating efficient trade flows in compliance with global regulatory shifts.
Panel 3: Web3 Supply Chain & Ethical Trade
From origin to consumer: verifiable ethical standards, human rights due diligence, ‘ESG traceables’ into value chains for regenerative trade in supply chains.
Panel 4: The Border and the Opportunity
Crossing borders: Imports, Exports and everything in between - conversations that make economies resilient, interoperable, and prosperous
Panel 5: Digital Assets for the Real World
Can real-world asset tokenisation power liquidity, transparency, and unlock regenerative capital liquidity for modern global trade flows?
A Matter of Time: Lessons from the UK (Fireside Chat with Professor Sarah Green)
Pioneering the UK's Electronic Trade Documents Act: lessons in overcoming possession hurdles for digital trade and trade finance.
Closing Remarks
Sean White responds to the day's talking points and provides a strategic synthesis of priorities, challenges and next steps for coordinated national action.
Networking Reception
An opportunity for cross-sector engagement and partnership development.
Digital readiness: Defining the Standard
Digital trade is no longer an emerging concept. Legally recognised electronic trade documents, tokenised titles, and instant, immutable settlement networks are already operational in leading global markets. Australia must ensure its systems, standards and regulatory settings keep pace with these advances.
Digital infrastructure in practice
Tokenised titles and verifiable documents enable secure, tamper-proof transfer of ownership. Combined with high-assurance cryptography, this infrastructure surpasses traditional cloud frameworks in security and traceability. Value can be held, moved and settled with new levels of efficiency, reducing risk across the entire trade lifecycle.
Beyond paper. Beyond legacy systems.
Paper-based processes have constrained Australia’s competitiveness for decades. Digital documentation aligned with MLETR standards enables faster, more secure export processing and unlocks new financial opportunities, including real-time settlement, improved liquidity, and access to modern capital solutions for exporters and supply chain operators.
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