Which Countries Have Extradition Treaties with Australia?

Extradition is a means of ensuring that people who have allegedly committed an offence in Australia can’t escape conviction simply by fleeing to another country.

Under an extradition agreement, a person who is believed to have committed a crime in Australia can be detained in another country, and deported back to Australia to face legal proceedings.

Countries that have extradition agreements with Australia can also request that people who have committed crimes and escaped to Australia be detained and subsequently sent back to the country where the alleged crime was committed to face the justice system there.

A number of countries identify themselves as ‘extradition countries’, which means they are obligated to consider extradition requests, while other countries are under no obligation to consider any requests made.

In Australia, the federal government administers and controls the extradition process, and the federal Attorney General, or the justice minister makes any extradition requests to other countries.

If a request for extradition is made from another country to Australia, the Attorney General or the justice minister will review the request and make the decision as to whether or not to accept it.

If the request is accepted, the person in question will be arrested and a court will determine if the person is eligible for surrender.

If the court determines the person is eligible, they will be remanded into custody while the Attorney General or the justice minister decides whether it is appropriate to surrender them to the country that has requested them.

What countries are considered ‘extradition countries’?

There are a number of countries that have bilateral extradition arrangements with Australia. These are:

• 	Country	Name of treaty	Regulation implementing treaty
  1	Argentina	Treaty on extradition between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Argentina	Extradition (Republic of Argentina) Regulations
  2	Austria	Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Austria concerning extradition Protocol between Australia and the Republic of Austria amending the treaty concerning extradition done at Canberra on 29 March 1973	Extradition (Republic of Austria) Regulations
  3	Belgium	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Kingdom of Belgium	Extradition (Kingdom of Belgium) Regulations
  4	Brazil	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Federative Republic of Brazil	Extradition (Federative Republic of Brazil) Regulations
  5	Chile	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Chile	Extradition (Republic of Chile) Regulations
  6	Czech Republic	Treaty on Extradition between Australia and the Czech Republic	Extradition (Czech Republic) Regulations 2023
  7	Ecuador	Treaty on extradition between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador	Extradition (Republic of Ecuador) Regulations
  8	Finland	Treaty between Australia and Finland concerning extradition Protocol between Australia and Finland amending the treaty concerning extradition done at Helsinki on 7 June 1984	Extradition (Finland) Regulations
  9	France	Treaty on extradition between the Government of the Republic of France and the Government of Australia	Extradition (Republic of France) Regulations
  10	Germany	Treaty between Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany concerning extradition	Extradition (Federal Republic of Germany) Regulations
  11	Greece	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Hellenic Republic	Extradition (Hellenic Republic) Regulations
  12	Hong Kong	Agreement for the surrender of accused and convicted persons between the Government of Australia and the Government of Hong Kong[1] Protocol amending the Agreement for the Surrender of Accused and Convicted Persons of 15 November 1993 between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China	Extradition (Hong Kong) Regulations 2008
  13	Hungary	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Hungary	Extradition (Republic of Hungary) Regulations
  14	India	Extradition treaty between Australia and the Republic of India	Extradition (India) Regulations 2010
  15	Indonesia	Extradition treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia	Extradition (Republic of Indonesia) Regulations
  16	Ireland	Treaty on extradition between Australia and Ireland	Extradition (Ireland) Regulations
  17	Israel	Treaty between Australia and the State of Israel concerning extradition	Extradition (State of Israel) Regulations
  18	Italy	Treaty of extradition between Australia and the Republic of Italy	Extradition (Republic of Italy) Regulations
  19	Korea	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Korea	Extradition (Republic of Korea) Regulations
  20	Latvia	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Latvia	Extradition (Latvia) Regulations 2004
  21	Luxembourg	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg	Extradition (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) Regulations
  22	Malaysia	Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of Malaysia on Extradition An Exchange of Notes between the Government of Australia and the Government of Malaysia on the Treaty on Extradition	Extradition (Malaysia) Regulations 2006
  23	Mexico	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the United Mexican States	Extradition (United Mexican States) Regulations
  24	Monaco	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Government of his Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco	Extradition (Principality of Monaco) Regulations
  25	Netherlands	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands	Extradition (Kingdom of the Netherlands) Regulations
  26	Norway	Treaty between Australia and Norway concerning extradition	Extradition (Norway) Regulations
  27	Paraguay	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Paraguay	Extradition (Republic of Paraguay) Regulations 1998
  28	Philippines	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of the Philippines	Extradition (Republic of the Philippines) Regulations
  29	Poland	Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Poland on Extradition	Extradition (Poland) Regulations 1999
  30	Portugal	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Portugal	Extradition (Republic of Portugal) Regulations
  31	South Africa	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of South Africa	Extradition (South Africa) Regulations 2001
  32	Spain	Treaty on extradition between Australia and Spain	Extradition (Spain) Regulations
  33	Sweden	Treaty between Australia and Sweden Concerning Extradition Protocol between Australia and Sweden amending the treaty concerning Treaty on extradition between Australia and Sweden done at Stockholm on 20 March 1973 Protocol between Australia and Sweden further amending the treaty concerning extradition done at Stockholm on 20 March 1973	Extradition (Sweden) Regulations
  34	Switzerland	Treaty between Australia and Switzerland on extradition	Extradition (Swiss Confederation) Regulations
  35	Türkiye	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Turkey Exchange of notes in relation to the treaty on extradition, constituting an agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Turkey	Extradition (Turkey) Regulations 2003
  36	United Arab Emirates	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the State of the United Arab Emirates	Extradition (United Arab Emirates) Regulations 2010
  37	United States of America	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the United States of America Protocol amending the treaty on extradition between Australia and the United States of America of May 14, 1974	Extradition (United States of America) Regulations
  38	Uruguay	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay	Extradition (Uruguay) Regulations 2010
  39	Venezuela	Treaty on extradition between Australia and the Republic of Venezuela	Extradition (Republic of Venezuela) Regulations
  40	Vietnam	Treaty between Australia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Extradition	Extradition (Vietnam) Regulation 2013

However, the situation is a bit more complicated than this, as there are also.

• Countries with regulation based extradition arrangements with Australia, which are:

In addition to this, there are:

• Multilateral treaties with extradition obligations to which Australia is a signatory,
• Members of the London Scheme with which Australia has an extradition relationship, and
• Countries with an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom that was inherited by Australia.

So, it always best to consult with a law firm with expertise in extradition arrangements to obtain accurate advice and effective representation in these matters.

What factors will be taken into consideration when deciding whether to extradite?

Although requests for extradition from countries with bilateral extradition relationships will be considered, they are not automatically granted.

There are a number of exemptions that can lead to extradition being denied and the alleged offender remaining in Australia and either facing the legal system here, or if their offence is not considered a crime under Australian law (dual criminality), potentially being released.

The factors that can potentially lead to extradition being denied include:

• If the alleged offence was political or military in nature.
• If the person being held has already been acquitted, punished or pardoned for behaviour that constitutes the same offence.
• If extradition is sought for the purposes of punishing the person on the basis of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or political opinion.
• If the person is likely to face prejudice or be detained on the basis of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or political opinion.

If it is decided that a person is to be extradited from Australia, they will be required to remain in custody unless there are special circumstances that would allow for bail to be granted.

They will be extradited as soon as is practical, and sent to the country that has requested them.