Apply to buy residential property as a foreign person

Before you buy residential property

If you are a foreign person, you must apply for approval from us, the Australian Taxation Office, before buying a residential property in Australia. In some cases, you may apply for an exemption certificate instead. See more information in Guidance Note 6 – Residential Land on the Foreign investment websiteExternal Link.

Before you enter any contract to buy residential property, you need us to grant you approval or an exemption certificate.

There are penalties if you buy Australian property without first obtaining approval or an exemption certificate. See How we ensure compliance by a foreign person.

Applying for approval or an exemption certificate

You must apply using Online services for foreign investorsExternal Link for:

• a new application for approval to buy Australian residential property
• an application for an exemption certificate
• a variation to an existing application for approval or exemption certificate.

You must pay a fee when you submit your application for approval. It can take up to 30 days to consider an application after we have received full payment of the fee.

For more information, see:

• Residential fees for a foreign person for the fee you pay when you submit your application for approval
• How to apply or vary an approval to buy residential property for how to apply using Online services for foreign investors.

If you intend to buy a new dwelling from a developer

If you plan to buy a new dwelling from a property developer, ask the developer if they already have an exemption certificate for the dwelling. If they do, you do not need to apply for approval.

For more information, see Exemption certificates for property investors.

When can you apply for an exemption certificate

You can apply for an exemption certificate if you intend to purchase only one property. It can be a new or near-new dwelling, or a single block of vacant land for development.

You pay a fee when you apply for an exemption certificate, at the time of applying.

The exemption certificate allows you to make multiple attempts or bids to purchase one property:

• in a nominated state or territory
• without the requirement to seek approvals for each property you are interested in.

You can apply for an exemption certificate even if you have already signed a contract, provided the contract is still conditional.

Your exemption certificate will:

• be valid for 12 months from the date of approval
• specify a limit on the property value you can bid or attempt to buy
• specify the Australian state or territory in which you can buy
• specify the type of property you can buy.

If you decide to bid or negotiate for a property of greater value, you will need to obtain a new exemption certificate for the greater value property.

The conditions for obtaining an exemption certificate and approval to buy a specific property are the same.

For more information on key concepts and residential land, see Register of foreign ownership of Australian assetsExternal Link.

Conditions for obtaining approval

We consider all applications including variations on a case-by-case basis. Each type of property (or dwelling) may have special and different conditions.

If your application is approved, we will send you a 'no objection notification'. This notification will grant you (the foreign person) permission to purchase an Australian property.

Applications to buy established dwellings

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027, foreign persons are banned from purchasing established dwellings in Australia (limited exceptions apply). This includes temporary residents purchasing an established dwelling for use as a principal place of residence. Temporary residents can still apply for approval to purchase vacant land or new dwellings.

Application to buy an established dwelling for redevelopment

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027, we generally approve applications to buy and develop an established dwelling it if significantly increases Australia's housing stock. This applies to development proposals to:

• retain an established dwelling
• demolish an established dwelling, or
• redevelop vacant land that previously had a dwelling on it.

Different rules applied to applications made before 1 April 2025.

From 1 April 2025, the following conditions generally apply to purchases of established dwellings for redevelopment:

• The property is vacant at settlement.
• No part of the existing dwelling is occupied from the date of settlement until construction of the additional dwellings is complete.
• At least 20 additional dwellings being built on the land.
• Construction of all dwellings is completed within 4 years from the date of approval.
• You submit evidence of completion of construction to us within 30 days of receiving it. That is, a certificate of fitness for occupancy or use, final occupancy, or builder’s completion certificate.
• You do not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of your interest in the property before construction is complete.
• Once construction of the new dwellings is complete, you rent or sell at least one of the dwellings to an independent third party.

Additional conditions may be imposed.

Application for housing Australian based employees

Foreign companies who employ people from Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste, including those participating in the Pacific Australia Labour MobilityExternal Link (PALM) scheme, and are required to provide housing for them may maybe eligible for approval to purchase one or more established dwellings for this use.

We generally approve these applications if:

• The property will be used solely to accommodate workers from Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste.
• The foreign person is selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of the property within 6 months from the earliest date of when
  • it is first expected to remain vacant for 6 months or more, or
  • it has remained vacant for 6 months or more.

We may require additional information as part of the application process to determine your eligibility.

Applications to buy a dwelling for your principal residence

From 1 April 2025 to 30 March 2027, purchases of established dwellings by foreign persons to use as their principal place of residence in Australia are banned. You can no longer apply after 31 March 2025.

Before 1 April 2025, we generally approved applications made by temporary residents if:

• The property is vacant at settlement.
• You use the property as your principal place of residence whilst in Australia.
• You do not rent out any part of the property.
• You do not demolish the dwelling and replace it with a new dwelling.

If the property is to undergo renovations, those renovations must not be so substantial that you cannot continue to reside in the property while the renovations are undertaken. For example, if you demolish the dwelling on the property this would generally breach the condition. As your principal residence, you are required to live in the property.

Note: You must dispose of the property within 6 months when:

• the property is no longer your principal place of residence in Australia
• you are no longer a temporary resident.

Application to buy new dwellings

We will generally approve an application to buy a new dwelling as long as it is not a single dwelling that was built to replace one or more demolished dwellings.

Where an established dwelling is demolished and replaced with one new dwelling, the replacement dwelling is treated as an established dwelling for the purpose of a foreign person seeking approval to buy.

An application (for an exemption certificate) to buy a new dwelling is normally used by foreign persons seeking to buy from a developer who has not provided approval to the foreign person under an existing new dwelling exemption certificate.

A new residential dwelling is a dwelling that:

• will be, is being, or has been, built on residential land
• has not been previously sold as a dwelling
• has not been previously occupied or was not occupied for more than 12 months if it was sold in a development.

Application to buy vacant land

Vacant residential land in Australia is considered vacant if:

• it is land on which the number of dwellings that could reasonably be built is less than 10
• the land is not being used wholly and exclusively for a primary production business.

Land that previously had an established dwelling on it is generally not considered to be vacant land.

We will generally approve an application to purchase vacant land if:

• You build at least one residential dwelling on the land.
• You do not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of your interest in the land before construction of the dwelling is completed.
• Construction of all dwellings is completed within 4 years from the date of approval.
• You submit evidence of completion of construction to us within 30 days of receiving it (that is, a certificate of fitness for occupancy or use, final occupancy, or builder’s completion certificate).

Varying your existing approval

If we granted you approval for your proposal but you wish to make a correction or change the conditions of your approval, you must apply for a variation. You do this using Online services for foreign investors. You pay a fee for submitting a variation of approval.

If you need to make substantial changes to the original approval, you will need to submit a new residential application, not a variation.

Simple or complex variation

There are 2 types of variations –use a:

• simple variation to correct a spelling error or errors to the name of the purchaser or property being purchased
• complex variation to
  • change or remove a condition, unless it is a substantial change
  • extend the validity period of a no-objection notification
  • add a new wholly owned subsidiary as an applicant.

For example, you may want to vary a residential application or exemption certificate when you have received approval for vacant land to develop, and you need:

• more time to construct or want to sell without developing, or
• to apply for a complex variation to the conditions of your approval.

Mortgagee interest and applications

A mortgagee interest is when a foreign person:

• lends money to another person to purchase a property, and
• repayment of the loan is secured by granting an interest in the land.

The mortgagee (lender) must lodge a residential application if a security interest is held over Australian residential land before they enter the lending arrangement.