About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. It assists ASEAN Member States (AMS) in meeting their commitments and realising the advantages offered by the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

 The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 53.3 million to fund RT4D from 2020–21 to 2027–28.

Project Summary

The RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), implemented through the Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) Facility, supports ASEAN Member States to realise the benefits of RCEP through capacity-building support and access to technical expertise.

The project ‘Developing Schedules of Non-Conforming Measures for the Financial Services Sector under RCEP’ is approved under the RISP. The project aims to support Cambodia’s transition from positive-list to negative-list scheduling of financial-services commitments under RCEP Chapter 8 on Trade in Services and Annex 4 on Financial Services Specific Provisions. It will:

  • undertake a regulatory stocktaking and readiness assessment of Cambodia’s financial-services commitments under RCEP, the AANZFTA Second Protocol upgrade and the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA);
  • review relevant domestic laws, regulations, policy instruments and institutional mandates affecting the banking, payments, insurance and securities subsectors;
  • identify existing non-conforming measures for potential inclusion in Annex I, and future policy reservations for potential inclusion in Annex II;
  • identify legal, policy, institutional and technical capacity gaps associated with the transition from positive-list to negative-list scheduling;
  • deliver a multi-stakeholder consultative workshop and sector-specific online drafting clinics for banking, payments, insurance and securities regulators;
  • develop a bilingual Khmer-English Guideline for Drafting Financial Services NCM Schedules to support future scheduling and transposition processes;
  • prepare and refine Cambodia’s draft Schedules of Non-Conforming Measures for the financial-services sector, supported by a consolidated Issues and Verification Log; and
  • finalise a technically verified Schedule of Non-Conforming Measures package for national review and approval.

The Opportunity

RT4D is seeking a consulting firm/organisation (hereinafter referred to as “the Consultant”) to manage and deliver technical advisory, legal and regulatory analysis, stakeholder engagement and capacity-building services for the project, in close collaboration with the RT4D Facility and the Project Proponent. The project will be implemented from approximately November 2026 to June 2027. The final Project outputs will be subject to comments, amendments and approval from the RT4D Facility Team, the Project Proponent and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The services will be delivered in accordance with the requirements set out in the Request for Proposal (RFP) and Terms of Reference (ToR).

Closing Date for Queries: 22 October 2026

Queries

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Terms of Reference

Financial Proposal Template

Services Agreement Template

     

To ensure the above can be effectively managed and completed in alignment with the ToR, it is recommended that interested organisations have:

  • Trade in services and financial-services expertise: Demonstrated expertise in international trade in services, financial-services regulation and market access commitments, including banking, payments, insurance, securities and related regulatory frameworks.
  • Negative-list scheduling and NCM expertise: Strong practical experience developing, analysing or transposing negative-list Schedules of Non-Conforming Measures, including the identification and drafting of Annex I existing measures and Annex II future policy reservations.
  • RCEP, AANZFTA and ATISA experience: Demonstrated knowledge of RCEP Chapter 8, Annex 4 on Financial Services Specific Provisions, AANZFTA commitments and the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement. Experience supporting implementation of trade-in-services commitments in ASEAN or comparable regional contexts will be highly regarded.
  • Legal and regulatory analysis: Proven experience reviewing domestic laws, regulations, administrative instruments and regulatory frameworks; identifying legal and policy gaps; and preparing practical, evidence-based advice and legal drafting materials.
  • Financial-sector policy and regulatory engagement: Experience working with ministries of finance, central banks, financial-services regulators, trade authorities and other relevant government agencies. Experience engaging Cambodian financial-sector institutions and regulators will be an advantage.
  • Technical drafting and verification: Demonstrated experience preparing technical schedules, legal transposition documents, drafting manuals, verification logs, regulatory matrices or comparable technical instruments requiring detailed, line-by-line review and validation.
  • Stakeholder consultation and capacity building: Demonstrated experience designing and facilitating consultations, technical workshops, drafting clinics and capacity-building activities for government, regulatory, business and civil-society stakeholders.
  • Plain-language and bilingual materials: Demonstrated ability to prepare accessible, plain-language technical materials and guidance resources in English and Khmer, including materials explaining complex trade and regulatory concepts to diverse audiences.
  • Cambodia and local capability: Demonstrated capacity to undertake in-country coordination and stakeholder engagement in Cambodia, including access to qualified Khmer-speaking personnel.
  • GEDSI integration: Demonstrated ability to integrate Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) considerations into stakeholder engagement, consultation processes and project outputs, including consideration of MSMEs, women-led enterprises and people with disability.
  • Monitoring, evaluation and reporting: Experience applying Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) approaches to technical assistance and capacity-building activities, including participant registration, attendance tracking, feedback collection and reporting.
  • RT4D programme requirements: Strong understanding of, and ability to operationalise, RT4D requirements relating to MEL, GEDSI, communications, safeguarding/PSEAH, stakeholder engagement and programme management throughout implementation.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Apply before 07 November 2026

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