New foreign investment regime introduced into Parliament

The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 and its associated legislation (Bills) introduced into Parliament today are substantially similar to the drafts released earlier this year. The legislation is intended to begin on 1 December 2015.

The important changes that you should be aware of are:

• the types of actions a foreign person will need to notify to the Treasurer before taking that type of action;
• acquisitions of interests in Australian Land will need to be notified to the Treasurer unless an exemption applies;
• the Treasurer will be able to make a range of orders if the actions of a foreign person are contrary to the national interest;
• the monetary thresholds which will apply to actions before they are caught by the legislation;