People acting on behalf of foreign powers will soon be forced to reveal the relationship and detail their activities on a public register.
The register forms part of an unprecedented foreign interference scheme coming into effect on December 10, which is aimed at stopping covert actors from interfering in Australian politics.
"Foreign actors will remain free to promote their interests in Australia, provided this is done in a lawful, open and transparent way," Attorney-General Christian Porter said on Friday.
Foreign agents will also be forced to disclose their communications, including text message and WhatsApp exchanges with the country that employs them.
They will also need to outline their correspondence with government ministers as well as comments and opinion pieces published across Australian media platforms.
The laws are designed to counter foreign interference in Australian elections, as happened during the 2016 US presidential campaign.
"Russian agents and organisations were funding a campaign of misinformation designed to undermine the American democracy," Mr Porter told reporters in Perth.
"That could quite easily happen in Australia, and until the passage of these laws and the establishment of this system we were unprepared for it."
