The Australian government has signalled its intention to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), which would legally recognise digital trade documents for the first time in the country.

The federal Attorney-General’s Department issued a consultation on September 16 seeking views from industry, legal experts and technology providers on “implementing legislation aligned with” MLETR.

MLETR has been adopted or used as the basis for new legislation in countries such as France, the UK and Singapore to give legal recognition to traditional paper trade documents such as bills of lading, bills of exchange, air waybills and promissory notes.

“We have heard that the need to produce paper transferable records can disrupt the trade of goods or other processes, causing inefficiencies and costs along the supply chain,” the Attorney-General’s office says in a preface to the consultation. “These costs and complexities can create a barrier to trade, particularly for resource-constrained small businesses.”

The government was urged to adopt MLETR by participants in earlier consultations on its Simplified Trade System, an initiative aimed at streamlining Australia’s cross-border goods trade, which was worth around A$1tn (US$674bn) in the last financial year.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has repeatedly called on the Australian government to implement MLETR, saying in a document last year that Australia “remains on the starting blocks” as other countries adopt digital trade rules.

“Incrementalism has its own costs, in terms of businesses continuing to operate in sub-optimal regulatory settings as other jurisdictions move ahead, leaving Australian businesses at a competitive disadvantage,” the organisation said, contrasting Australia unfavourably with the UK’s relatively rapid adoption of the legal reform.

The latest consultation also seeks views on how legislation aligned with MLETR would allow for global interoperability of digital trade documents, and asks if a “reliability” accreditation system should be adopted for platforms that manage digital trade documents.

The Attorney-General’s office, which is the government’s top legal department, says it will present options for MLETR implementation to the government next year. The consultation closes on October 28.

Some of Australia’s mining giants already use electronic bills of lading (eBLs) despite the lack of domestic legislation, by participating in trade digitisation platforms. Two of Australia’s biggest iron ore exporters last year committed to using eBLs for a quarter of their seaborne trade by 2025.

An International Chamber of Commerce UK study published last year found that use of digital trade documents unlocked time and cost savings on cross-border trade, including by, in some cases, slashing the time goods are held at border posts.