This article analyses the current position under Australian law
and general policy and the Commonwealth Government's specific
policy on foreign investment in Australian agriculture.
Recent debate
There has recently been considerable debate and concern
expressed in the Australian press and Australian public life
regarding whether the regulation of acquisitions by foreign persons
of Australian rural land is sufficient. Some of that concern arose
from matters of food security and the potential for acquisition of
Australian rural land and business by foreign governments and
foreign state-owned entities.
Commonwealth Government report and response
As a result, an Australian Commonwealth Government report (the
Report) was commissioned and recently delivered by the Rural
Industries Research and Development Corporation and the Australia
Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, to
which the Government has formally responded.
