Statutory Notices

This section does not apply if the proposed acquisition is exempt under the Foreign Acquisitions & Takeovers Regulations 1989. See Exemptions for further details.

Acquisitions which are subject to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (the FATA) require a statutory notice to be submitted to FIRB in accordance with the relevant form as prescribed under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers (Notices) Regulations 1975 as follows:

• section 26A notice for compulsory notification of acquisitions of interests in Australian urban land.  There are three different section 26A notices:
  • Form 3 is for all non-residential property;
  • Form 4 is for residential real estate purchased in individual name(s); and
  • Form 5 is for residential real estate purchased in the name of a company or trust;
• section 26 notice for compulsory notification of acquisitions of substantial shareholdings in Australian corporations; or
• section 25 notice for all other acquisitions, such as:

If you have already acquired the interest (for example, if you have entered an unconditional contract, or if the conditions have lapsed and your contract is now unconditional) without prior approval, you have breached the FATA.  Do not submit a statutory notice – instead, you should submit an application for retrospective approval.

Formal notification of a proposal under section 25, 26 or 26A activates a time clock and, if the Treasurer does not take action within 30 days and notify the parties of this action within a further 10 days, the Treasurer loses the ability to either prohibit the proposal or to impose conditions. The normal 30 day examination period may be extended by up to a further 90 days by the issue of an interim order (sections 22 and 25(3)).

Click on the relevant page in How to apply to access the application forms (including the relevant statutory notices), as well as specific details on how to submit an application.

Please note that new streamlined application forms have been introduced for acquisitions of residential real estate which meet the eligibility criteria. Applications submitted on the previous forms (e.g. R3, C1 and/or Form 3 Notice under section 26A) are no longer valid.