FIRB and what is FIRB used for in Australia

It helps to know about FIRB when buying in Australia. Alan McGillivray has many years experience in FIRB and can assist by providing advice to an overseas investor for real estate. Following are Government links to information on the FIRB real estate category.

The real estate category covers investment in:

residential real estate (including property that is zoned other than residential real estate but including a component of residential);
commercial real estate;
rural land;
accommodation facilities; and
urban land corporations/trusts, ie the trust or corporation holds more than 50 per cent of its assets in urban land (vacant or developed).

This category also includes a section on compliance issues.

Who is exempt?

Refer to Exemptions for acquisitions which do not require notification and approval.

Entering into a contract

If an acquisition is not exempt, foreign purchaser(s) must notify the Government prior to acquiring the interest. If they enter a contract, it should be conditional upon foreign investment approval, and they should ensure that it remains conditional until after foreign investment approval is granted.

Foreign persons are in breach of the FATA if they enter an unconditional contract to acquire property (or if their conditional contract becomes unconditional) before approval is granted and may be subject to significant penalties.