Expertise Archives:
Foreign ownership of assets register – annual notification of water rights
Foreign ownership of water The beginning of a new financial year means the time for foreign persons (including foreign owned companies and trusts) to notify the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) by 30 July of any acquisitions of registerable water interests during the previous financial year (and continues to hold at 30 June). Whilst foreign holders …
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Reforms to Australia’s foreign investment framework – a positive change or more of the same?
The Australian Federal Treasurer has announced policy reforms to Australia’s foreign investment framework intended to strengthen, streamline, and increase transparency to the regime through an updated Foreign Investment Policy document. The announcement came ahead of the 2024-2025 Federal Budget which provides additional funding, amongst other things, to increase the Foreign Investment Review Board’s (FIRB) monitoring …
FIRB Alert: Exercise of divestment powers
As discussed in our recent Emerging Issues Publication, the Federal Government’s drive to develop Australia’s critical minerals sector continues to see an increase in regulatory scrutiny, particularly Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) compliance. This has been demonstrated most recently following the Treasurer’s decision to order the divestment of Yuxiao Fund’s (and its associates) shareholding in …
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Natalie Kurdian
FIRB residential dwelling fee changes – a sign of things to come in 2024
In its latest raft of changes to the FIRB regime announced last year, the Federal Government has proposed adjustments to its foreign investment fee regime for all foreign buyers of residential property, tripling the application fee for established dwelling purchases in addition to doubling the annual vacancy fee for foreign owned residential dwellings which are …
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New Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets – what are your new obligations?
The Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets (New Register) will come into force on 1 July 2023 and will require foreign persons to register their ownership of certain Australian assets. Currently, foreign persons are required to report: However, from 1 July 2023, these various reporting obligations will be consolidated under a single registration requirement …
Charlie Watson
The future of foreign investment: the role of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act
Foreign investment in the Australian energy and resources sectors has long been subject to a national interest and national security test. These tests ensure that investment by foreign entities remains overall beneficial, in light of issues concerning Australia’s sovereignty. Recently, a significant increase in global cyber attacks from nation-states, state-sponsored actors and transnational cybercrime syndicates …
Foreign investment and critical infrastructure reform in the resources and renewables industry
The requirement to obtain approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) prior to undertaking projects in Australia is not a new concept to the resources and renewables sectors. Mining leases have had a $0 FIRB threshold for a number of years. However, the last two years have seen the introduction of significant amendments to …
Beware the foreign asset in an Australian discretionary trust: The ATO’s final Determinations emphasise the need for review and legislative change.
The Commissioner has finalised his Taxation Determinations TD 2022/12 and 2022/13 regarding the taxation of capital gains made by foreign beneficiaries of Australian resident discretionary trusts on the sale of non-taxable Australian property. These determinations follow the current law as confirmed in Greensill and N&M Martin, and again reinforce the need for review of the …
New Queensland land tax rules: Queensland land tax rates to be based on Australia wide landholdings
Earlier this year, the Queensland Government announced that from 30 June 2023 Queensland land tax will be levied at a rate that is calculated with reference to a landholder’s Australia-wide landholdings. This new approach is different from the way land tax has been calculated in the past and is inconsistent with the land tax regimes …
Jodie Robinson
The new cost of foreign investment
The Australian Federal Government has just announced a significant increase to filing fees for foreign investors seeking to invest in Australia, in line with their recent election promise. Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment (Fee Doubling) Regulations 2022 (Cth), filing fees for all applications to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) on …
FIRB Water Rights – Don’t end up in deep water
End of Financial Year FIRB Water Rights update It is that time of year again – foreign investors must register their water rights with the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) under their annual notification requirements. Under the Register of Foreign Ownership of Water or Agricultural Land Act 2015 (Cth) (Land and Water Registration Act), foreign …
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Post-IPO lock-up: Protecting Australian investors at the risk of global competitiveness
The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has made welcome changes to its rules around post-IPO lock-ups. But do they go far enough? While a strong regime benefits new investors and market integrity, is the position globally competitive? Do we risk losing IPOs to other jurisdictions? If Australia’s regime is not globally competitive, we risk losing Australian …
Electricity Infrastructure Investment Bill passes NSW Parliament Upper House – what you need to know
On 25 November 2020, the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Bill 2020 (NSW) (Renewables Bill) passed the NSW Parliament Upper House following over 30 hours of ongoing debate that challenged 249 proposed amendments. With the Renewables Bill expected to be assented to before the end of 2020, it is guaranteed to shake up the NSW energy market …
FIRB Reforms Article Series – Part 6: Penalties and Enforcement
Proposed reforms to increase FIRB’s enforcement powers and penalties Over the last six weeks, we have been discussing the proposed reforms to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) and regulations (collectively, the FATA). During this series we have examined the proposed increase in the Foreign Investment Review Board’s (FIRB) oversight of areas such …
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FIRB Reforms Article Series – Part 5: Mining and resources
In this edition of our FIRB Reforms Article Series we consider how the Commonwealth Government’s proposed changes to the foreign investment rules, as set out in the discussion paper released on 5 June 2020 (Discussion Paper) and the draft legislative amendments released on 31 July 2020 impacts Australia’s foreign investment framework in respect of the …
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FIRB Reforms Article Series – Part 4: Data
The devil’s in the data: How FIRB’s proposed national security test may impact on businesses dealing with ‘sensitive data’ In this next edition of our FIRB Reforms Article Series, we drill down deeper on the Commonwealth Government’s proposal to include sensitive data as a key consideration in their expanded focus on sensitive national security businesses. …
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FIRB Reforms Article Series – Part 3: FGIs
Proposed exemptions to the definition of ‘Foreign Government Investor’ welcome news for private equity funds and institutional investors. We have been unpacking the upcoming changes to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) regime in our FIRB Reforms Article Series. This article considers the proposed amendments surrounding the definition of foreign government investor (FGI) which are …
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Encouraging signs for reciprocal recognition of foreign judgments involving Chinese courts
In a recent Australian court decision, a judgment made by a Chinese court has been recognised and enforced in Australia. This decision, combined with two other Australian court decisions recognising Chinese judgments, could open doors for those holding Australian judgments to seek to enforce their judgment against judgment debtors in mainland China. We recently published …
Queensland land tax: Exemption from foreign surcharge
WHO SHOULD READ THIS THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO On 3 July 2020, the Queensland Government finally confirmed the exemption framework for ex gratia relief from surcharge land tax. As expected, the exemption will be available where a foreign trust or company is found to make a significant contribution to …
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Foreign Ownership of Water Entitlements annual registration requirements
WHO SHOULD READ THIS Foreign investors who hold water entitlements or contractual water rights in Australia. THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Foreign persons with holdings in registrable water entitlements or contractual water rights are required to notify the ATO about any changes in these interests on an annual basis and within 30 days of the …
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COVID-19: FIRB provides further guidance
It has been a big few weeks in the foreign investment space, particularly in light of the drastic changes to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) regime announced by the Treasurer on 29 March 2020. As set out in our previous alerts on this issue (which you can find here and here), the changes imposed …
COVID-19 FIRB changes enacted into law
The dramatic changes announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on 29 March 2020 to Australia’s foreign investment regime, in response to the economic upheaval caused by the COVID‑19 pandemic, have become law. As set out in our previous alert on these issues (which you can find here, the announced changes reduce all of the relevant monetary screening …
The Treasurer announces significant changes to the FIRB regime in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
On 29 March 2020 the Treasurer announced drastic changes to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) regime in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While stressing that the changes do not change the fact that Australia is supportive of foreign investment, the Treasurer’s changes will have a significant impact across the whole of Australia’s economy. …
Re(FIRB)ishing foreign investment laws before the new FTAs move in
Impractical exemptions to the FIRB regime contained in Free Trade Agreements largely unused yet often overstated Australia’s general policy towards inbound foreign investment is that it is welcome – in fact it is positively encouraged. That said, certain foreign investment into Australia must first be reviewed by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to ensure …
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FIRB – Water Rights
WHO SHOULD READ THIS Foreign investors who hold water entitlements or contractual water rights in Australia THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Foreign persons with holdings in registerable water entitlements or contractual water rights are required to notify the ATO about any changes to these interests by the end of July. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO …
