- Online services for foreign investors to debut later this month
- New service will enhance security and streamline paperwork for foreign investors
- Changes not expected to affect foreign investment
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) unveiled a new platform called Online services for foreign investors, which will debut on 26 June 2023. From that point forward, foreign investors and their representatives will use the new service to manage their assets.
Accessible through myGov, which the ATO states will enhance security and privacy, the new service is touted to streamline foreign investors’ registration and transaction obligations significantly.
A new Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets is expected to start on 1 July 2023.
The Register will replace previous foreign investment registers that the ATO manages relating to agricultural and residential land and water interests. It will also support compliance with Australia’s foreign investment framework and increase the government’s visibility of foreign investments made in Australia.
Simplifying the management of foreign investment
According to the ATO’s website, the Online services for foreign investors will be used to:
- lodge foreign investment applications for residential land and pay associated fees
- manage their personal foreign investment details
- manage residential and non-residential asset registrations
- view the history of their residential and non-residential assets (from 1 January 2021)
- lodge vacancy fee returns and pay associated fees
- monitor their residential foreign investment application status
- review any asset registrations
- review their vacancy return lodgments
- review their payment history
- delegate authority to representatives to act on your behalf as an individual or for an entity without an ABN.
Some foreign investment services will be unavailable from 17 to 25 June to prepare for the online service’s launch.
Changes not expected to affect foreign investment
Having spoken with the Director of Foreign Investments Programs at the ATO recently, Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group Managing Director Daniel Ho commented that the changes would not adversely affect foreign investment into Australian real estate.
“We believe these changes will have no impact on the number of foreign buyer transactions or the amount invested in Australian real estate. Any property that needs FIRB approval must be registered. Or residential properties alone, that adds up to nearly 2,000 transactions per quarter,” Ho says.
“This is not a new requirement or restriction, but merely a new way of doing things, and in some ways is better than the old way.”
Daniel Ho, Co-Founder and Group Managing Director
“China is the second largest source of investment, at AU$6.7 billion in the December 2022 quarter. Overall, foreigners invested AU$20.7 billion in real estate in that quarter, with AU$19.3 billion going into commercial and AU$1.4 billion into residential real estate.”
Ho also noted that those who wish to represent buyers must also download the myGov app and register on it. Buyers can then nominate them to act on their behalf.
Among other things to look for, “Buyers who have already applied using the current website will have to submit additional information to link their new myGov ID with their existing records,” said Ho.
