Tony Abbott the PRIME MINISTER – GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS RULES ON FOREIGN PURCHASES OF AGRICULTURAL LAND
The Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister
The Hon. Joe Hockey MP, Treasurer
The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP, Minister For Agriculture
The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP, Minister For Agriculture
The Commonwealth Government is putting in place better scrutiny and
reporting of foreign purchases of agricultural land — delivering on our
commitment to the Australian people at the last election.
The Government will continue to welcome foreign investment, but the
community must have confidence that this investment is coming in on our
terms and for our nation’s benefit.
To improve the scrutiny of foreign purchases of agricultural land
the Government will reduce the screening threshold from $252 million to
$15 million from 1 March 2015.
The new $15 million screening threshold will apply to the
cumulative value of agricultural land owned by the foreign investor,
including the purposed purchase.
The Government will also establish a foreign ownership register of
agricultural land to strengthen reporting requirements and provide a
clear picture of foreign investment in Australia’s agricultural sector.
From 1 July 2015 the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will start
collecting information on all new foreign investment in agricultural
land regardless of value.
The ATO will also commence a stocktake of existing agricultural land ownership by foreign interests.
The Government will continue to work with state and territory
governments so that the ATO register will use land title transfer
information.
These measures are a significant step in protecting Australia’s
national interests and in giving the community greater confidence in our
foreign investment regime.
The Government is currently considering the recommendations of the
Parliamentary Committee inquiry led by Kelly O’Dwyer MP regarding
foreign investment in residential real estate. There does need to be
better enforcement of the rules for foreign purchases of existing homes
so that young people are not priced out of the market.
These laws were not legally enforced by the former Labor government – not once.
The Government will announce details of the reforms to foreign investment in residential real estate in coming weeks.
Foreign investment always has, and will continue to be, integral to
Australia’s economic success. Under this Government, Australia is again
open for business, as demonstrated by our landmark Free Trade
Agreements with China, Japan and Korea.
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