New Australian foreign investment rules came into force on 1
December 2015 following the passage of the Government's
Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Legislation Amendment Bill
2015. These included new application fees, greater compliance
powers to the Australian Taxation Office ("ATO") and
increased penalties for non-compliance.
APPLICATION FEES
Applicants must pay the fee before their foreign investment
application is processed. If an application falls into a number of
categories, the category with the highest fee would apply.
Residential Real Estate
Generally, non-resident foreign persons are prohibited from
purchasing established dwellings in Australia. Temporary residents
can apply to purchase one established dwelling to use as their
residence while they live in Australia, which must be sold if the
property ceases to be their principle place of residence.
