The new Future Made in Australia Act, set to come into effect on 1 July 2024, aims to impose strict policy frameworks and institutional regimes that will fundamentally ensure Australia upholds foreign private capital deployment whilst maintaining national economic standards. In the context of commercial and new residential real estate, the Act will predominantly see changes to Australia’s foreign investment regime. The key reforms that will work to streamline investments include:
- ‘Providing faster approvals for known investors that are making investments in non-sensitive sectors, and that have a good compliance record’
- ‘Processing 50% of cases within the initial statutory timeframe of 30 days from 1 January 2025’
- ‘Providing a fee refund for foreign investment applications that were unsuccessful in a competitive bid process’
- ‘Allowing foreign investors to purchase established build to rent properties to build demand and incentivize construction of new projects’
The direct and portfolio foreign investment in the Australian economy was said to be worth $3.5 trillion in 2023, thus, the new measures outlined in the Act will work to safeguard this and promote further investment.