Foreign investment in Australian land

Authored by the LexisNexis Legal Writer team. Updated by Sara Hatcher, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law (NSW) and Simon LaBlack, Director, LaBlack Lawyers (Qld).

The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) (the Act) imposes limits on foreign ownership of Australian real estate. It is supplemented by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 (Cth) (the Regulations).

This guidance note only considers the application of the Act and Regulations to Australian land, and not other actions which might be restricted or prohibited by the Act (eg acquisitions of Australian owned businesses).

For information specific to leases and licences, see Guidance Note: Foreign investment in leases and licences.

For more guidance on foreign investment (including investment in assets other than Australian land), see Practical Guidance Mergers & Acquisitions guidance (subscription required), Related legal considerations — Foreign Investment Review Board: Overview — Introduction to Australia’s foreign investment approval regime.

Background

The Act restricts foreign persons from acquiring certain interests in certain types of Australian land.

Some exceptions apply to certain foreign persons or depending on the types or values of the interests being acquired.

There are different categories of Australian land depending on its use and location (eg residential, commercial, agricultural etc). Different monetary thresholds apply to the different categories of land before the foreign investment framework restricts the acquisition (and different monetary thresholds can apply depending on where the foreign person is located, due to free trade agreements or other government policies). Some foreign persons can acquire some, but not other, categories of Australian land without being restricted by the Act.

The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) can provide conditional or unconditional exemptions or no objection notifications (commonly referred to as approvals).