About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by both 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.

Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

Also operating under RT4D is the Trade and Gender Equality Incubator (TGEI), an initiative funded by the Australian Government. The incubator tests ideas and methods, drawing on promising examples, that integrate gender in trade policy, technical cooperation, and development programming.

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 48.7 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28. 

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Project Summary

The AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP), implemented RT4D Facility, aims to support AMS to realise the full benefits of AANZFTA through the provision of capacity-building support and access to technical expertise. The following project is approved under AISP.

 

  • Project Name: Study on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform – Introducing Safeguards in Modern Investment Agreements.
  • Project Objective:
    • The Regional Workshop will serve as a platform to present findings and discuss challenges, opportunities and best practices to enhance understanding of safeguards to protect governments’ right to regulate, as introduced in newer international investment agreements (IIAs). It will seek to further align understanding on the potential benefits of introducing safeguards to the current ISDS provisions under the AANZFTA and provide recommendations to AANZFTA Parties on potential modern ISDS safeguard elements that may be considered for inclusion under the AANZFTA ISDS review.
    • The workshop will be structured into multiple components to maximise engagement and capacity building. The final structure and agenda will be set in close consultation with ASEC, the Project Proponent and the COI.

 

The Opportunity

RT4D is seeking a consulting firm/organisation (hereinafter referred to as “the Consultant”) to manage and deliver the abovementioned project, in close collaboration with the RT4D Facility and the Project Proponent. 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).

Summary Q&A

 

Terms of Reference

Financial Proposal Template

The general competencies and qualifications that the Consultant should demonstrate include (but are not limited to):

  • Demonstrated experience in managing large scale regional events of similar scope and requirements, experienced facilitating and delivering online and on-site consultations and workshop that effectively engage a diverse government audience.
  • Strong organisation and time management skills including the ability to manage competing tasks in a timely manner.
  • Demonstrated experience in managing events at a high-profile level involving country representatives and senior stakeholders. And engaging with ASEAN Member States, ASEAN Secretariat and/or AMS is a distinct advantage. The organisation must be comfortable with ASEAN stakeholders and following ways of working (or comparable governance arrangements).
  • Experience working independently and within cross-functional teams in a collaborative, professional environment, and demonstrable capacity and resources to design and deliver the activities in line with robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Gender Equality Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) & Communications and Business Engagement requirements outlined in the above sections of the ToR.

Interested candidates may apply for more than one consultancy position. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Closing Date: 15 October 2025

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