This discussion paper provides information on a new treaty being proposed by Japan, the EU, the US and Switzerland, provisionally called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The paper is divided into three parts, firstly setting out details of the proposed instrument, then addressing the place of Australia and the proposed ACTA in the present international intellectual property (IP) system, and finally addressing the likely provisions of the ACTA in an Australian context. The discussion paper is being released in response to a new international proposal, and does not pre-judge any government policy on whether Australia should, or should not, become involved in negotiations or membership of the ACTA.