Q.Which non-Australian purchasers do not need foreign investment approval for a Foreign Residential Investment?
A. You are exempt if:
- You are an Australian Citizen living abroad;
- Your spouse is an Australian Citizen (not a permanent resident) and you are purchasing residential real estate in both names as joint tenants (not tenants in common);
- You are a New Zealand citizen and you are purchasing residential property;
- You hold a permanent resident visa and you are purchasing residential property;
- You are purchasing a new dwelling from a developer, where the developer has pre-approval to sell those dwellings to foreign persons;
- You are acquiring an interest in a time share scheme which does not permit you (and any of your associates) more than 4 weeks entitlement per year;
- You are purchasing certain residential real estate in an Integrated Tourism Resort (ITR);
- You are acquiring an interest in developed commercial property valued below $50 million generally; $5 million for heritage listed properties; or $1005 million for US Investors;
- You are acquiring an interest in developed commercial property where the property is to be used immediately and in its present state for industrial or non residential commercial purposes. The acquisition must be wholly incidental to the purchasers proposed or existing business activities;
- You are acquiring an interest by will or by operation of law (such as, a court order regarding the division of property in a divorce settlement, but not if both parties simply agree to transfer property without a courts intervention); or
- You are purchasing property from the Government (Commonwealth, State or Territory, or local)
Foreign persons should determine whether their proposed acquisition is exempt and if in doubt, seek legal advice.
