From Nature News, 22 March 2016:
Researchers in Australia are worried that an unusually restrictive ‘export controls’ law that comes into force in April could constrain their academic freedom.
The law, called the Defence Trade Controls Act, will require academics who are working on applied research that is classified as ‘dual-use’ — that which may have both military and non-military applications — to apply for a permit from Australia’s Department of Defence before they can write to colleagues overseas about their work. The dual-use list includes fields from electronics to microorganisms research. By 2 April, which marks the end of a one-year grace period since the act was passed, affected academics risk jail terms or fines if they communicate their research outside Australia without seeking a permit. Read more.
Bianca Nogrady 