Palestinian groups launch legal action over alleged Australian arms exports to Israel

The organisations allege that those exports to Israel were granted before 7 October 2023 and remain active during violations of international law.

“Australia is known to provide sole-source components, including F-35 fighter aircraft components and material used in armoured military vehicles. Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the devastating impacts on the Palestinian people as a whole, is immense, severe and well-documented. They amount to grave crimes,” according to a public statement released coinciding with the application.

“The groups seek the documents to determine whether the minister has properly assessed the risk that the arms goods or technology being exported may be used to commit or facilitate serious human rights abuses or may be used in a way contrary to Australia’s international obligations or commitments.

“If the documents show that the minister has not properly assessed such risk, it may pave the way for a legal claim alleging that the minister is in legal error and that exports must end.

“This is the second time the organisations have turned to the Federal Court to obtain transparency over Australia’s arms export regime in relation to Israel, following earlier proceedings commenced in November 2023 which was subsequently discontinued.”

The groups are represented by the Australian Centre for International Justice and barristers from the Victorian Bar and NSW Bar.

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“Australian arms export regime operates with minimal public scrutiny, and no meaningful visibility as to what exports have been approved by the Australian government, and on what basis,” according to Australian Centre for International Justice principal lawyer Rawan Arraf.

“This sustained lack of transparency raises serious questions as to whether Australia’s arms export regime is being administered in accordance with Australia’s legal obligations, including obligations prohibiting the transfer of arms where there is a clear risk they may be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international law that give rise to international crimes which are codified in the Commonwealth Criminal Code.

“Our clients believe they may have a right to obtain relief in the nature of judicial review. But because of secrecy around the process, they cannot know for sure until the cloak of secrecy is unveiled.”

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, previously speaking on radio, said his office has oversight of the permits going to Israel in Australia’s “pretty significant Defence export control system”.

“Most of the exports that have been approved since October 7 are for items which have gone to Israel to be worked on and then returned to Australia as part of our own, building our own Defence capability. And so there is a presence of a couple of companies from Israel in Australia’s Defence industrial base making military equipment for Australia’s use,” he said previously.

“There are a handful of instances where items have gone back to Israel, as I say, to be worked on, but then they are returned to Australia, and they don’t go anywhere near the conflict in relation to Gaza.

“We’re confident that those licences are for what we describe as dual-use technology, so that is an item which might be on the Defence Strategic Goods List, but is not a piece of military equipment, it’s intended for civil economy, because you know, it might notionally have a military use, it’s on that list.

“But the items that have actually been exported to – or the licences or items to be exported to Israel are not related to weapons that would be used in this conflict. And so, when we’re made it clear that there have been no weapons exported to Israel since we’ve come to government, but not just since we’ve come to government, really for the past five years and probably beyond, that is the absolute truth.

“The one point I would make there is that we are a part of the F-35 Program, and we’ve not hid from that, that is the Joint Strike Fighter which is at the heart of Australia’s fast‑jet capability, and they are the fast fighter planes that we use today … It’s a supply chain, but it’s also countries which use the capability, and you know, one goes with the other, if you like. This is a capability which is completely fundamental to the Air Force, and it’s really the heart of the Royal Australian Air Force today.

“But again, this is a program that’s been in place for the better part of two decades. There are 18 countries which participate in it, countries like Norway and Denmark and the Netherlands. Israel is one of those countries.

“(The idea that) somehow we are directly supplying weapons to Israel, is just a falsehood.”

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.