Strengthening Australia's foreign investment framework

The Government is seeking views on proposed reforms to strengthen Australia's foreign investment framework, particularly around residential real estate and agriculture. This discussion paper forms the basis of the Government’s consultation on reforms to the foreign investment framework. The proposed reforms include:

• increasing compliance and enforcement activities around foreign investment in residential real estate through the creation of a specialised investigative and enforcement area within the Australian Taxation Office; and
• introducing new civil penalties and increased criminal penalties for foreign investors and third parties who breach the foreign investment rules.

Consideration is also being given to the introduction of an application fee on all foreign investment proposals, based on the type of investment. The Government also intends to introduce a new $55 million screening threshold for foreign investment in Australian agribusiness, subject to public consultation on the definition of agribusiness.