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Definitions

(Definitions can also be found under relevant sections (such as section 5) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and Annex 1 of Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy)

Definitions
Term	Definition
Acquisition	Includes an agreement to acquire, but does not include an acquisition: by will or by devolution by operation of law; or by way of enforcement of a security held solely for the purposes of a moneylending agreement. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Agreement	Means any agreement, whether formal or informal and whether express or implied, other than a moneylending agreement. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Asset	Includes an interest in an asset. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Associates	See Section 6 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Australia	Includes the external Territories to which this Act extends. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Australian Corporation	Means a corporation of a kind referred to in Section 13(1)(a), (b) or (c) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Australian Rural Land	Means land situated in Australia that is used wholly and exclusively for carrying on a business of primary production. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and Rural Land.
Australian Urban Land	Means land situated in Australia that is not Australian rural land. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Australian Urban Land Corporation or Trust	A corporation or trust that has interests in Australian urban land which makes up more than 50 per cent of the value of its total assets. See Sections 13C and 13D of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions	Means institutions regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority as Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions .
Balance-Sheet	Includes a statement of assets and liabilities or any similar document.
Beneficiary	Includes any person designated as the recipient of funds or other property under a trust.
Charitable Institution	Charitable institution means: any charitable, religious, scientific or educational institution (including an institution providing residential accommodation wholly or principally for full-time students attending an educational institution); any institution being, or carrying on, a hospital; and any institution the sole or principal purpose of which is to assist in the saving of life, or the prevention of loss or damage to property, whether at sea or otherwise; being an institution which is not carried on for the purpose of profit or gain to its individual members and which is not empowered to make any distribution, whether in money, property or otherwise, to its members. See Regulations 2 & 3(a) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989.
Commercial Real Estate	Commercial real estate includes vacant and developed property that is not for residential purposes, such as offices, factories, warehouses, hotels and shops. It may also include land that does not meet the definition of rural land, such as mining operations.
Compulsory Notification	Under s26 and s26A of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 , it is compulsory for a foreign interest to notify the Treasurer of a proposed acquisition of: a substantial interest in an Australian corporation (or increase of an existing substantial interest); or an interest in Australian urban land.
Constituent Document	Constituent document, in relation to a corporation, means the constitution of the corporation or any rules or other document constituting the corporation or governing its activities. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Developer	Developer refers to the person who owns the land on which the dwelling was/is being constructed. A builder is not necessarily a developer but can be employed by a developer to construct the dwelling(s).
Direct Investment	Direct investment in Australia by foreign government investors must be notified regardless of the value of the investment. Australia’s foreign investment regime is concerned with investments that provide the investor with potential influence or control over the target (entity or asset(s)), including any offshore acquisition providing this over an Australian business or asset(s). Any investment of an interest of 10 per cent or more is considered to be a direct investment. Investments that involve interests below 10 per cent may also be considered direct investments if the acquiring foreign government investor is building a strategic stake in the target, or can use that investment to influence or control the target. In particular, an investment of less than 10 per cent which includes any of the following is considered to be a direct investment and must be notified: preferential, special or veto voting rights; the ability to appoint directors or asset managers; contractual agreements including, but not restricted to, agreements for loans, provision of services and off take agreements; or building or maintaining a strategic or long-term relationship with a target entity. Retaining an interest of 10 per cent or more following the enforcement of a security interest is also considered a direct investment.
Director	Director includes any person occupying a position on the board of a corporation, by whatever name called. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Discretionary Trusts	Is a type of trust whereby the trustee has the power, or discretion, to affect the distribution of the income or corpus (assets) of the trust, in whole or in part, to beneficiaries as they see fit.
Divestiture Order	Is an order that requires the parties to sell/divest themselves of an interest in the subject assets or shares. See Sections 18(4), 19(4), 20(3), 21(3) & 21A(4) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Eligible Land Assets	Eligible land assets, in relation to a corporation, mean so much of the corporation's total assets as consists of interests in Australian urban land. See Section 13C(4) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Established Dwelling	Any dwelling that is not a new dwelling. Also referred to as a second-hand dwelling.
Exempt Business	Is defined in Section 13A(4) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and the value of which is determined under Section 13B.
Exempt Corporation	Is defined in Section 13A(4) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
FATA	Means the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Final Order	Is an order that prohibits the proposed transaction, it amounts to a rejection of the foreign investment application and is issued where a proposal is inconsistent with Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy and not in the national interest. See Sections 21A(2), 18(2), 19(2), 20(2) & 21(2) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Financial Corporation	Is a corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution is applicable, and includes a corporation formed within the limits of Australia that carries on as its sole or principal business the business of banking or insurance, other than banking or insurance to which paragraph 51(xiii) or (xiv) of the Constitution , as the case may be, is not applicable. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Financial Sector Company	Is defined in Section 3 of the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998 .
Foreign Corporation	Is a corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution is applicable or a corporation that is incorporated in an external Territory to which the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 does not extend. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Foreign Government Investors	Foreign government investors include: a body politic of a foreign country; entities in which governments, their agencies or related entities from a single foreign country have an aggregate interest (direct or indirect) of 15 per cent or more; entities in which governments, their agencies or related entities from more than one foreign country have an aggregate interest (direct or indirect) of 40 per cent or more; or entities that are otherwise controlled by foreign governments, their agencies or related entities, and any associates, or could be controlled by them including as part of a controlling group.
Foreign Person	Foreign person means: a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia; a corporation in which a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation holds a controlling interest; a corporation in which 2 or more persons, each of whom is either a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation, hold an aggregate controlling interest; the trustee of a trust estate in which a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation holds a substantial interest; or the trustee of a trust estate in which 2 or more persons, each of whom is either a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation, hold an aggregate substantial interest. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Heritage Listed	Commercial developed property is heritage listed where the property, or part of the property, is listed for its heritage value by a Government (Commonwealth, State or Territory, or local), or is subject to a heritage overlay or similar designation.
Interest In Australian Urban Land	Interest in Australian urban land has the meaning given by Section 12A of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Integrated Tourism Resorts	See Integrated Tourism Resorts.
Interim Order	Is an order that extends the period of examination for up to a further 90 days after publication in the Commonwealth Gazette (that is, an application may take up to 120 days in total before a decision is reached). See Sections 22 & 25 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Joint Tenants	Two or more persons that hold property jointly so that each owns an undivided share of the whole. Should one person die, their interest would pass to the surviving co-owner or co-owners.
Land	Includes a building or other structure, or a part of a building or other structure. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Last Accounting Date	Last accounting date, in relation to a corporation, means the date of the expiration of the most recent period in relation to which a profit and loss account of the corporation has been laid before it in general meeting, including an account so laid before it before the commencement of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975. See Section 13(3) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Lease	Is a contract whereby the owner of an asset (lessor) agrees to grant another party (the lessee) the right to enjoy or use that asset, usually for a given period of time (term). Lease also includes a sub-lease.
Lending Agreement	A lending agreement is an agreement entered into in good faith in the ordinary course of carrying on a business of lending money. It does not include an agreement dealing with any matter unrelated to the carrying on of a lending business, such as one that allows a degree of influence or control over the borrower, their business activities or assets (other than the usual terms for such a security). Such an agreement may include separate contracts. See footnote 2 of Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy.
Media Sector	The 'media sector' refers to daily newspapers, television and radio (including internet sites that broadcast or represent these forms of media).
Mineral Right	Is a right (however described) under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory to recover minerals, other than a right to recover minerals for the purposes of prospecting or exploring for minerals, or a lease that includes such a right, or an interest in a lease that includes such a right. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Moneylending Agreement	Is an agreement entered into in good faith in the ordinary course of carrying on a business of lending money, not being an agreement dealing with any matter unrelated to the carrying on of that business. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Mortgage Interest	An interest in assets, Australian urban land or shares by a foreign person that arises when an interest is taken over the assets, land or shares, as security for a loan. Both taking the security interest and enforcing a security interest are acquisitions under Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy and the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 , unless specifically excluded by the Policy or the Act (for example, the enforcement of a security held solely for the purposes of a moneylending agreement).
New Business	A new business includes: starting a business in Australia; or if already operating a business in Australia, commencing a new primary activity that is not incidental to an existing primary activity(s) and that falls within a different Division under the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification as published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
New Dwellings	A dwelling that has not been previously sold by the developer and has not been previously occupied (such as, by tenants) for more than 12 months. New dwellings include those that are part of extensively refurbished buildings where the building's use has undergone a change from non-residential (for example, office or warehouse) to residential. It does not include established residential real estate that has been refurbished or renovated.
New Zealand Investor	A New Zealand national; a New Zealand enterprise; or a branch of an entity located in New Zealand and carrying on business activities there. New Zealand National An individual who is a citizen, national or permanent resident of New Zealand. It does not include a person who is a national of the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau and is not permanently residing in New Zealand. New Zealand Enterprise A New Zealand enterprise is an entity constituted or organised under a law of New Zealand. The form in which the entity may be constituted or organised may be, but is not limited to, a corporation, a trust, a partnership, a sole proprietorship or a joint venture. Branch of an Entity Located in New Zealand A branch may be ‘carrying on business activities in New Zealand’ where it is doing so: in a way other than being solely a representative office; and in a way other than being engaged solely in agency activities, including the sale of goods or services that cannot reasonably be regarded as undertaken in New Zealand; and by having its administration in New Zealand. See Regulation 2 and 2AB of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989 .
Officer	Officer, in relation to a corporation, includes: a director, secretary or employee of the corporation; a receiver and manager of any part of the undertaking of the corporation appointed under a power contained in any instrument; or a liquidator of the corporation appointed in a voluntary winding up. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Off The Plan	See new dwellings.
Ordinarily Resident	A person is ordinarily resident if: their continued presence in Australia is not subject to any limitation as to time imposed by law (that is, they are permitted to stay in Australia indefinitely, such as Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens); and the person has actually been in Australia for 200 or more days in the previous 12 months.
Prescribed foreign investor	A United States national or a United States enterprise; or a New Zealand national or New Zealand enterprise.
Prescribed foreign government investor	For paragraph 17G (b) of the Act, the conditions are that:: the entity mentioned in section 17G of the Act (entity 1) is not: a body politic of a foreign country; or a body politic of part of a foreign country; or a part of a body politic of a foreign country or part of a foreign country; and either: entity 1 is controlled by another entity (*entity 2); or an entity (entity 2*) holds an interest in entity 1 that satisfies the condition specified in regulation 10 for paragraph 17F (c) of the Act; and entity 2 is: a body politic of a relevant foreign country; or (ii) a body politic of part of a relevant foreign country; or a part of a body politic of a relevant foreign country or part of a relevant foreign country. Relevant foreign country means either the United States of America or New Zealand.
Prescribed sensitive sectors	For paragraph 17H (b) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 , the condition is that the business activity is any of the following: media; telecommunications; transport (including airports, port facilities, rail infrastructure, international and domestic aviation and shipping services provided within, or to or from, Australia); the supply of training or human resources, or the manufacture or supply of military goods or equipment or technology, to the Australian Defence Force or other defence forces; the manufacture or supply of goods, equipment or technology able to be used for a military purpose; the development, manufacture or supply of, or the provision of services relating to, encryption and security technologies and communications systems; the extraction of (or the holding of rights to extract) uranium or plutonium or the operation of nuclear facilities.
Principal place of residence	Principal place of residence means a person's sole place of residence, or if a person has more than one place of residence, their primary or main place of residence.
Primary Production Business	Has the same meaning as in section 995-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 . See Australian Rural Land and Rural Land.
Profit And Loss Account	Includes any statement of profits and losses or any similar document. See Section 5 of the FATA.
Redevelopment	Residential dwelling(s) to be demolished and new dwellings constructed. Does not include renovating or refurbishing existing residential dwellings.
Regulations	Means the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989 and the Foreign Takeovers (Notices) Regulations 1975 .
Residential Real Estate	Means all Australian urban land other than commercial properties (for example, offices, factories, warehouses, hotels, restaurants and shops). 'Hobby farms' and 'rural residential' blocks are residential real estate.
Revocation Order	Is an order that revokes any previous order. See Section 23 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Rural Land	See Australian Rural Land.
Second-Hand Dwelling	Any dwelling that is not a new dwelling. Also referred to as an established dwelling.
Share	Share in relation to a corporation means a share in the share capital of the corporation, and: includes stock into which all or any of the share capital of the corporation has been converted; and except in section 11, includes an interest in such a share or in such stock. See Section 5 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Spouse	Spouse includes a de facto partner. A person is the de facto partner of another person (whether of the same sex or a different sex) if: The person is in a de facto relationship with the other person– that is, if they are not legally married, are not related by family and have a relationship as a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis; or the person is in a registered relationship with the other person and that relationship is registered under a prescribed law of a State or Territory as a prescribed kind of relationship. See Regulation 2 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989 and sections 2D to 2F of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .
Statutory Notice	A prescribed form under Section 25, 26 or 26A of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Statutory Period/Deadline	The statutory period for a decision on proposals where a valid statutory notice, that is, Section 26A, 26 or 25 notices under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 , has been lodged is 30 days from the date of receipt. However, if the statutory period expires on a weekend or a public holiday the deadline is taken to be the next working day. See Sections 25(2)(a), 26(2)(b)(i) & 26A(2)(b)(i) of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Substantial Interest (in a corporation) (Controlling Interest)	A substantial interest occurs when a single foreign person (and any associates) has 15 per cent or more, or several foreign persons (and any associates) have 40 per cent or more, of the issued shares, issued shares if all rights were converted, voting power, or potential voting power, of a corporation. When a person(s) has a substantial interest, they are taken to hold a controlling interest, unless the Treasurer is satisfied that, having regard to all the circumstances, the person(s) is not in a position to determine the policy of the corporation. See Section 9 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Substantial Interest (in a trust)	A substantial interest occurs when a single foreign person (and any associates) has 15 per cent or more, or several foreign persons (and any associates) have 40 per cent or more, beneficial interest in the income or capital of the trust estate. Where the trustee has the power or discretion as to the distribution of the income or capital of the trust estate, each beneficiary is taken to hold a beneficial interest in the maximum percentage of income or capital that could be distributed to them. See Section 9A of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
Temporary Resident	A person that is residing in Australia and: holds a temporary visa which permits them to stay in Australia for a continuous period of more than 12 months (regardless of how long remains on the visa); or has submitted an application for permanent residency and holds a bridging visa which permits them to stay in Australia until that application has been finalised.
Tenant In Common	Means one who holds property in common with another person or persons so that each has a portion of interest in the whole property. On death, this portion of interest passes to an heir or devisee who then becomes a tenant in common with the surviving co-owner or co-owners.
United States	The territory of the United States of America, including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. See Regulation 2AA of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989 .
United States (US) Investor	A national or permanent resident of the United States of America; a US enterprise; or a branch of an entity located in the US and carrying on business activities there. Branch of an Entity Located in the US A branch may be ‘carrying on business activities in the US’ where it is doing so in a way other than being solely a representative office; and in a way other than being engaged solely in agency activities, including the sale of goods or services that cannot reasonably be regarded as undertaken in the US and by having its administration in the US. US Enterprise A US enterprise is an entity constituted or organised under a law of the United States of America. The form in which the entity may be constituted or organised may be, but is not limited to, a corporation, a trust, a partnership, a sole proprietorship or a joint venture. See Regulation 2 and 2AB of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989 .
Urban Land	See Australian Urban Land.