ATO launches new foreign property buyer tool

According to the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) website, the new service will:

• Streamline how foreign investors manage registration obligations (including new obligations) and other transactions related to Australian investments.
• Be accessed with myGovID as your digital identity.
• Store information to use in future transactions with ATO so you don’t have to provide that information again.
• Let you manage your obligations at a time that is convenient.

Further to this, a new Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets is expected to kick off on 1 July, according to a media statement from the ATO.

In anticipation of the ATO’s latest service launch, the Tax Office warns some foreign investment services will be unavailable between 17 June and 25 June; however, payments can still be made throughout this period, with the ATO continuing to process all forms submitted before close of business on 16 June.

At a time when the Australian real estate industry is crying out for investment, Daniel Ho, Juwai IQI co-founder and group managing director, assured the ATO’s changes wouldn’t directly affect the number of foreign buyer transactions or the amount invested within Australian real estate by this purchasing group.

“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,” he said.

Over the final three months of 2022, around $20.7 billion flooded the Australian real estate sector from overseas sources, with Chinese investors making up the largest portion after they funnelled $6.7 billion into the sector.

Commercial real estate remained the most popular asset class among foreign investors, attracting $19.3 billion in funding during the December quarter, with the remaining $1.4 billion entering the residential real estate market.

The changes will alter the way foreign investors register their ownership of land, with Mr Ho explaining the new process, which requires a myGovID, in turn, will ensure better protection of personal information.

“The new process makes it easier to register investments and will better protect identity and personal information,” he said before adding that the amended system “will also store information, so buyers only have to enter it once, even if they complete multiple transactions”.

“Australia will not share any foreign investor’s information publicly or with any foreign government. One reason for this change is to better protect their personal information,” he noted.

Last year, a foreign investor was fined $250k for a string of unauthorised property purchases in outer Melbourne.