All acquisitions of residential real estate in Australia by foreign investors require approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board before purchasing.
You DO NOT require foreign investment approval to purchase Australian residential real estate if you are:
- An Australian citizen - residing in Australia or abroad.
- A holder of an Australian permanent resident visa.
- A person entitled to hold a special category visa eg. New Zealand citizens.
- An Australian citizen with a foreign spouse, purchasing residential real estate in joint names as joint tenants.
There are, however, some opportunities for foreign investors to acquire residential real estate in Australia but approval is usually subject to strict conditions. For example:
- Second-hand properties – The foreign investor must hold a temporary resident visa in Australia for more than 12 months and must live in the property (not rent it out) and must sell the property once they leave Australia, their visa expires or they no longer occupy the property.
- Vacant land – Continuous development on the land must commence within 12 months of receiving foreign investment approval.
- New & ‘off the plan’ properties – If a property has not previously been occupied or sold and is part of a ‘development’, or is an ‘off-the-plan’ purchase (regardless of whether construction has commenced), then purchase by a foreign investor may be approved as long as no more than 50% of the properties in the development have been sold to foreign interests.
For a more detailed explanation of Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy, visit the
Foreign Investment Review Board website at
www.firb.gov.au