QLD Overseas property investor

[Dermot Walsh]

I am an Australian resident in Qld and MD and owner of a HK consultancy and investment group. Can that company buy property in Qld that I can live in. I appreciate there are a limitation on Australian companies, but would like to know the position for an overseas company.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

There are a couple of issues to this. The main one you'll need to overcome is Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval. Without it, the company won't be able to purchase. There's an overview of the regime here: Residential real estate – overview [GN1] – Foreign Investment Review Board

Approval depends on whether the residence is 'new' or 'established'. In most cases you can only get approval for new dwellings. Some of these can qualify for 'pre-approval' (which the developer arranges by getting an exemption for developments of 50 lots or more).

Then, to actually register the land, the company will either need to be registered with ASIC as a foreign corporation or provide sufficient identification of registration in Hong Kong to establish legitimacy (translated into English if not already in English).

 

[Dermot Walsh]

There are a couple of issues to this. The main one you'll need to overcome is Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval. Without it, the company won't be able to purchase. There's an overview of the regime here: Residential real estate – overview [GN1] – Foreign Investment Review Board

Approval depends on whether the residence is 'new' or 'established'. In most cases you can only get approval for new dwellings. Some of these can qualify for 'pre-approval' (which the developer arranges by getting an exemption for developments of 50 lots or more).

Then, to actually register the land, the company will either need to be registered with ASIC as a foreign corporation or provide sufficient identification of registration in Hong Kong to establish legitimacy (translated into English if not already in English).

Thank you for your insight. If the firm approves, would I be able to live in the property ?

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

I believe so. The regime is more about foreign ownership than what actually gets done with the property once it is owned. I do know they have some new(ish) requirements about making sure it isn't left vacant for a long period of time, but don't think they have anything about who can be in it - as long as the person is legally entitled to be resident in Australia.