EFIC, as a member of the OECD's Export Credits Group (ECG), complies with the OECD Council Recommendation on Bribery and Officially Supported Export Credits which outlines measures to be undertaken by ECG members to deter and combat bribery in connection with officially supported export credits.  These obligations, among others, include:

• informing exporters and, where appropriate, applicants, of the legal consequences of engaging in bribery in international business transactions;
• requiring exporters and, where appropriate, applicants, to disclose, upon demand: (i) the identity of persons acting on their behalf in connection with the transaction; and (ii) the amount and purpose of commissions and fees paid or agreed to be paid to such persons;
• requiring exporters and, where appropriate, applicants, to provide a “no engagement in bribery” declaration.  This declaration includes disclosure of cases where they, or anyone acting on their behalf in connection with a transaction, are currently under charge in a national court, or within a five-year period preceding the application, have been convicted in a national court or been subject to equivalent national administrative measures for violation of laws against bribery of foreign public officials of any country;
• verifying and noting whether exporters and, where appropriate, applicants, are listed on the publicly available debarment list of the World Bank Group or of any similar financial institution; and
• informing the law enforcement authorities if there is credible evidence that bribery was involved in the award or execution of the export contract.
  

Crime of Bribing Foreign Officials

Bribery of Foreign Public Officials is a crime, for further information please visit the Attorney-General's Department website.

Nuclear

EFIC is not routinely asked to provide facilities for nuclear-related exports.  EFIC employees are required to flag any potential nuclear transactions for careful consideration by senior management.  A nuclear-related facility would only be provided for exports that were legally permitted and the Australian Government applies strict controls to ensure that Australian exports do not contribute to nuclear weapons proliferation.

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs)

EFIC recognises the importance of the Debt Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, the purpose of which is to bring the debt burdens of these countries to sustainable levels, subject to satisfactory policy performance, to ensure that adjustment and reform efforts are not put at risk by continued high debt and debt service burdens.

EFIC has agreed that official export credits should not be provided for unproductive expenditure in HIPCs. Unproductive expenditure generally refers to transactions that are not consistent with the poverty reduction and debt sustainability strategies of the HIPC countries, and transactions that do not contribute to their social and/or economic development.

Members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Export Credits Group have also agreed that in order to assess their success towards ensuring that officially supported export credits to HIPCs are not provided for unproductive purposes, they will report transactions for HIPCs on an annual basis.

Defence Policy

Supporting defence sales is a normal part of what export credit agencies do – but only a small part of EFIC's business.

EFIC will provide a facility regarding defence exports only if all Australian Government requirements for the proposed exports are met.  Ministerial approval is required if the export is of lethal equipment.