News

Our digital transformation program, aimed at modernising the way foreign investment is managed and regulated, is entering the design and delivery phase. During this phase, we wish to consult with investors and agents to help us design a system which is efficient and accessible. (Note – our system deals with business investment, not residential real estate).

We are holding an online information session on Friday 18/03/2022 at 10:00am – 11:00am Australian Eastern Daylight Time for investors and agents where we will share:

The Government has today released the Secretary to the Treasury’s evaluation of the foreign investment reforms that commenced on 1 January 2021, as well as the Government’s response to the evaluation. The evaluation was a requirement under the Foreign Investment Reform (Protecting Australia’s National Security) Act 2020, and was delivered to the Treasurer on 10 December 2021.

To support the 1 January 2021 reforms to the foreign investment review framework, the Government provided funding to implement a new ICT platform.

We are pleased to announce we’re partnering with Deloitte Australia on our digital transformation as part of modernising the way foreign investment is managed and regulated.

Together we‘ll deliver a new ICT platform to streamline our administration of, and improve processing and compliance activities across the foreign investment framework.

The Register, which is maintained by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), has been established to provide greater transparency about levels of foreign investment in residential real estate in Australia.

Information has been extracted from the Register to provide Insights into purchases and sales of residential real estate by foreign persons from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.

We recently commenced a campaign to remind foreign investors of their statutory reporting obligations.

Those who were granted a No Objection Notification (NON) or Exemption Certificate (EC) in the first half of 2021 were contacted to remind them that from 1 January 2021, all foreign investors who are given a NON or EC must notify us no later than 30 days after taking each specified action.

These actions commonly include (but are not limited to) acquiring interests in:

The Treasury has today updated the National Security Guidance Note available on the FIRB website.

The Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Act 2021 was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 7 December 2021.

It expands the number of critical infrastructure assets under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018, with flow-on implications for notification requirements under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.

Having regard to the statutory timeframes of 30 days for assessing notifications under the FATA, and up to a further 10 days for receiving no objection notifications in response, investors are advised that notifications lodged for the remainder of the year are expected to be finalised next year. Treasury is also currently receiving a high volume of notifications, reflecting elevated M&A activity across the economy. Wherever possible, Treasury will continue to prioritise and meet genuine commercial deadlines during the period ahead.

The Treasury has today provided further guidance for investors in relation to their compliance and reporting obligations under the foreign investment framework and the application of Treasury’s compliance and enforcement powers on the FIRB website.

As noted in the FIRB news item of 22 February 2021, the Treasury is conducting an evaluation of the new foreign investment reforms which commenced on 1 January 2021. To help inform this evaluation, the Treasury is now inviting interested stakeholders to submit written submissions on the operation and performance of the reforms. Submissions close on 31 August 2021.

Further information on how to make a submission is available on the Treasury website.

The Treasury has today updated the Guidance Notes available on the FIRB website. The update aims to provide greater clarity to investors about their obligations under the foreign investment framework, including by addressing a number of issues identified since major reforms to the framework commenced on 1 January 2021.

Foreign investment application fees have been indexed for the 2021‑22 year. Revised fees will apply to applications made and notices given as of 1 July 2021. The fee schedule and further information on the application of fees is provided in Guidance 10.

In 2019-20, over 8,200 foreign investment applications were approved, representing potential investment of $195.5 billion. This included 137 zero dollar applications with a value of $2.7 billion, following the Government’s decision to reduce screening thresholds to $0 on 29 March 2020 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The 2019-20 Annual Report can be found on the FIRB website.

The FIRB Application Portal will be unavailable due to maintenance/updates on Friday 21 May 2021 from 6.00pm to 11.30pm AEST.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Issuing of Fee estimates

Fee estimates will be automatically calculated on the submission page for all applications except Exemption Certificates. Applicants will no longer need to provide their own fee estimate and explanation.

This will be in effect from 9.00am Monday 24 May.