New data revealed today shows Australia’s Future Fund holds more than $260m worth of investments in weapons companies complicit in Israeli war crimes and genocide, as advocates urge the Federal Treasurer to use Tuesday’s budget to divest the fund and avoid complicity.
APAN will launch a national campaign on Friday and have written to the Treasurer and Future Fund Chair Greg Combet, urging for weapons companies like Elbit Systems, Palantir and Lockheed Martin, as well as Israeli banks linked to illegal settlement expansion, to be placed on the Fund’s investment exclusion list.
Key Points:
- Future Fund currently holds $260 million+ in at least 5 companies including Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin & Palantir participating in Israel’s genocide & war crimes in Palestine
- Advocates call for these companies to be put on investment exclusion list
- Elbit Systems was on the Fund’s exclusion list in 2018 due to the “controversial weapons” screen, but in 2023 was inexplicably taken off
- APAN launch 11 mega billboards & campaign website in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne
- Campaign coincides with 78th anniversary of The Nakba on May 15 & Federal Budget
- In April, New Zealand’s High Court ruled New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund hadn’t adequately assessed human rights impact when investing into 4 companies linked to Israel’s illegal settlement regime.
Katie Shammas is Executive Officer of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN):
“The Future Fund was set up for our children’s future, but it’s being used to fund the killing of children in Palestine. The Treasurer should cut off the supply of Australian dollars for Israeli weapons in Tuesday night’s budget, “ she said.
“Our government is not only complicit in war crimes which is morally unconscionable, but these investments may also become a legal & financial risk for the Future Fund, as we’ve seen in New Zealand.
“Companies like Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin & Palantir are complicit in genocide and must not be funded by the Australian taxpayer.
“Next week is a solemn week for Palestinians as we mark the 78th anniversary of the Nakba – the violent dispossession of 750,000 Palestinians and the massacre of tens of thousands.
“Our tax dollars should not fund this ongoing mass killing in Palestine. In the lead up to the budget and The Nakba, we’ve written to the Treasurer and the Chair of the Future Fund urging them to put weapons companies like Elbit System back on the exclusion list.
“While Australian dollars continue to fund Israeli drones, bombs and bulldozers, the Nakba is now. We are calling for the Treasurer and Greg Combet to take action.”
Letter to treasurer & Future Fund, billboards & campaign materials available below:
7 May 2026
The Hon Jim Chalmers MP
Treasurer of Australia
Senator Katy Gallagher
Minister for Finance
Dear Treasurer and Minister,
Ahead of the anniversary of the Nakba, we write with urgency regarding Australia’s exposure to serious breaches of international law through the Future Fund.
This is no longer a matter of general ethical concern. It is a question of legal consistency, financial risk, and whether Australia is meeting its obligations under international law, or undermining them through its own sovereign investments.
As the Ministers responsible for issuing the Investment Mandate Direction, you hold the primary lever to ensure that the Future Fund aligns with Australia’s national priorities and international obligations. At present, the mandate does not provide sufficient clarity to manage the scale of risk now emerging.
The 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice is clear. States must not recognise as lawful Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, nor render aid or assistance in maintaining it. These obligations require material consistency across all arms of government, including sovereign wealth funds. At the same time, a growing body of United Nations reporting and expert analysis has raised credible concerns about conduct in Gaza that may constitute grave breaches of international law.
In this context, the Future Fund’s current investment profile raises serious concerns. Public disclosures indicate exposure to companies linked to these risks, including global defence contractors supplying military equipment used in Gaza, technology firms providing data and targeting capabilities used to “optimise” and automate military decision-making, and Israeli banks such as Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, and Israel Discount Bank, which have been documented by the United Nations as supporting settlement expansion in occupied territory.
This creates a clear contradiction. Australia has supported the illegality of settlements, imposed sanctions in relation to settlement activity, and recognised the State of Palestine. Yet through the Future Fund, it risks materially supporting the same system.
That contradiction now carries consequences.
There is potential legal risk, as demonstrated by the recent New Zealand High Court decision finding similar sovereign investments unlawful and unreasonable. There is reputational risk to Australia’s standing as a country that upholds international law. And there is fiduciary risk as global expectations on human rights due diligence continue to tighten.
There is also clear precedent for action. The Future Fund’s wind-down of Russian-linked investments following the invasion of Ukraine demonstrated that where serious breaches of international norms are identified, the Government can act decisively. The Future Fund has also previously divested from companies linked to serious human rights concerns, including selling stakes in Chinese firms associated with military and rights abuses. This demonstrates that where material risks are identified, the Government and the Fund can act. The absence of comparable action here raises legitimate questions about consistency.
We therefore urge you to:
- Update the Investment Mandate Direction to explicitly require compliance with international law and human rights, including clear guidance on unlawful occupation.
- Direct the Future Fund to apply enhanced human rights due diligence, including exclusion or divestment consideration for companies linked to settlement activity and situations of genocide risk.
In parallel, civil society partners are working with crossbench parliamentarians to progress a Divesting from Illegal Investments Bill, which would establish clear legal safeguards to prevent public funds, including the Future Fund and superannuation entities, from supporting unlawful settlement activity and situations of genocide risk. This forms part of our broader Red Lines work to align Australia’s financial systems with its international obligations. We would welcome the Government’s constructive engagement with this reform effort, and its support when such legislation is introduced to Parliament.
These are necessary steps to align Australia’s financial practices with its stated international positions and to mitigate growing legal, financial and reputational exposure. Without action, the gap between Australia’s commitments and its conduct will continue to widen. We would welcome the opportunity to meet and provide further detail.
Yours sincerely,
Katie Shammas
Executive Officer, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network
Letterhead version here
29.4.26
Greg Combet AO
Chair of the Future Fund
Level 37, 360 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Dear Mr Combet,
We write on behalf of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network regarding the Future Fund’s investment in companies that have breached international law and violated human rights in Palestine.
As you are undoubtedly aware, for the past two and a half years, Israel has undertaken a genocide in Gaza. This claim is substantiated by countless reputable voices, including the United Nations, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, and countless respected international human rights organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
We are concerned with the Future Fund’s investment into companies that are facilitating this genocide. The most egregious of these investments are weapons companies, such as Elbit Systems and Lockheed Martin, who knowingly provide Israel with machinery to carry out its genocide. These weapons include drones, F-35 fighter jets, missiles, and tanks which have destroyed Gaza to the point of being uninhabitable, and have killed thousands. Another of the Fund’s investments is in Palantir Technologies, a US technology company, that provides AI software used by Israel to “optimise” its genocide, automating and expediting military decision-making processes. Each of these companies are deeply complicit in the human rights abuses, genocidal acts and violations of international law committed by Israel which have led to the deaths of at least 75,000 Palestinians, and counting.
Similarly concerning is the Future Fund’s investment in three Israeli banks: Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi Le-Israel, and Israel Discount Bank. These institutions finance the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements through the provision of finance and loans to settlers for the construction of homes and the establishment of businesses on illegally occupied Palestinian land. Australia’s position on the unlawfulness of the settlements and the occupation has been clearly expressed, firstly through its support for
a United Nations resolution reaffirming the settlements as illegal, the implementation of sanctions against Israeli individuals in relation to the settlements, and its formal recognition of the State of Palestine as sovereign. The complicity of Israeli banks in supporting and enabling the settlement expansion has been well documented by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch.
The Future Fund’s Responsible Investment Policy states that its approach “aims to ensure alignment with Australia’s international obligations”. However, investment in the companies outlined above contradicts Australia’s obligations under the Geneva Convention, which requires that member states prevent and punish the crime of genocide, including by holding complicit corporations to account. It is also inconsistent with the 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion, which outlines Australia’s obligations to recognise the illegal nature of Israel’s occupation and to avoid any assistance in maintaining it. Further, as a distinct entity separate to the Australian Government, the Future Fund has independent obligations to avoid to engaging with, supporting, or endorsing illegal occupation or acts that may constitute genocide.
You may be aware that the New Zealand High Court recently ruled that its sovereign wealth fund’s investments in companies operating in Israeli-occupied territories were “unlawful and unreasonable”, where the Court found that it had failed to properly address human rights in its screening process. It is also worth noting that the New Zealand Superannuation Fund divested from Israeli banks several years prior to this ruling. New Zealand is just one of multiple countries whose sovereign wealth fund is excluding companies linked to Israel’s violations.
We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter with you at your earliest convenience, with the objective of discussing constructive and meaningful pathways toward divestment, to help mitigate any risks for Australia and the Future Fund’s complicity with a genocide and illegal occupation.
Yours sincerely,
Katie Shammas
Executive Officer
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network