What are the changes to foreign purchases of established dwellings from 1 April 2025?

On 16 February 2025, the Australian Government announced that from 1 April 2025, foreign buyers (including temporary individual residents and foreign-owned companies) will not be able to purchase established dwellings in Australia up until 31 March 2027. This is going to be a temporary ban and will be reviewed later down the track to see if it will be extended or not.

What are the current rules for an existing dwelling to be approved by the FIRB board?

If you plan on buying a property to live in while temporarily in Australia, you are able to apply for FIRB approval for an existing dwelling currently, however some of the things you must comply with are:

• the property must be vacant at settlement;
• you must use the property as your principal place of residence;
• the land purchase must be recorded on the Register of Foreign Ownership of Residential Land within 30 days from the date your settlement of the purchase of the land occurs;
• you cannot rent out all or part of the dwelling; and
• you must sell, transfer or dispose of the property within six months of it ceasing to be your principal place of residence or your temporary resident visa expires.

Are there any exceptions to this ban of buying established dwellings?

There are exceptions, which will be more detailed when the new guidance notes are issued by the ATO and the Queensland Treasury, however some that are currently mentioned are:

• investments that significantly increase housing supply or support the availability of housing supply; and
• the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

What if I have already applied for FIRB approval?

If you have already made an application, or will be making an application up until 31 March 2025, then your approval should not be impacted by this new legislation so it is important that if you have been considering to purchase an existing dwelling, you contact us to make an application as soon as possible.

Will there be more information on these changes?

Yes, there will be more accurate information regarding this temporary ban from the ATO and the Queensland Treasury as there will be updated guidance notes on the FIRB approval website.

Stay tuned for more updates and please contact our team for any queries in the meantime.