Why it's important to register your residential property
Once you become the owner of an Australian residential property you must register it using Online services for foreign investorsExternal Link. Registering an asset is free.
You may face an infringement notice or civil penalties if you do not:
- register your residential property
- keep your details up to date on the register.
You must also register a legal interest as lessee in a lease giving rights to occupy residential land if the term of the lease (including any extension or renewal) is reasonably likely to exceed 5 years, at the time the interest is acquired. More information is available at foreigninvestment.gov.auExternal Link.This link will download a file
Who must register the property
Once you own the property you or your authorised representative must register the asset unless we have granted you an exemption.
Generally, the person with the direct legal interest is required to register their residential property with us, the Australian Taxation Office.
One of the joint tenants must register
If you have direct legal interest and own the property jointly with one or more foreign person, one owner must register the asset first. The other foreign owners will then add themselves to the registered asset.
You need to decide which owner will register the property (usually the first owner listed on the application form). Once registered, that owner needs to give the other joint tenants the Asset ID so they can log in to Online services for foreign investors and add themselves to the registered property.
When all foreign owners are added, any owner can access and update the registered asset details.
Each of the tenants in common must register
If you own the property with others and are assigned specific ownership, then each foreign owner must register the asset with their percentage of ownership.
When to register your residential property
A foreign person or their authorised representative must register the residential property:
- within 30 days of the date of settlement or
- at another registrable event where you are added to the legal title of the property.
Settlement generally means that you either can:
- occupy the property if there is a dwelling on the land
- commence building if it is a piece of vacant land that you have purchased.
If you have signed a contract and have not yet taken possession of the property, wait until settlement to register.
You must also register using Online services for foreign investors if:
- you have obtained an interest (other than an equitable interest) in Australian residential property as a foreign person
- you have become a foreign person while holding an interest (other than an equitable interest) in Australian residential property.
You must update your details in the Register if your situation changes.
How to register your residential property
To register, log in to Online services for foreign investorsExternal Link and select Register asset.
For more information on registering and for joint tenants to add themselves to the asset, see How to register or manage an asset for foreign investors.
If you own multiple properties, each property must be registered separately.
Log in to Online services for foreign investorsUpdate your details if your situation changes
You must update your asset or profile in Online services for foreign investors if:
- you are no longer a foreign person
- you no longer hold residential property
- the property becomes residential while you are holding it
- the property ceases to be residential while you are holding it
- details of the registration changes, such as partial divestment, address or title details.
If your:
- personal details change, update your profile – see Manage your details in Online services for foreign investors
- asset details change, update the asset using Add or Edit an event – see How to register or manage an asset for foreign investors.
Penalties for breaching foreign investment rules
If you do not comply with your obligation to give a register notice or keep your details up to date, you may face an infringement notice or civil penalties.
If you think you have breached your foreign investment obligation, contact us as soon as possible.
If you have information about someone you think may be deliberately breaking our foreign investment rules, you can confidentially report a breach to us.
We use our compliance approach to ensure foreign persons comply with their obligations.
Statistics and reporting of foreign ownership
The Registrar (the Commissioner of Taxation) provides a report to the Treasurer from data collected in the Register. They publish aggregate statistics of foreign ownership.
The reported statistics may include:
- number of acquisitions and divestments
- value of foreign held residential land
- land use of foreign held residential land
- value of foreign held residential land by country of ownership.
Only aggregated statistics are included in the report. Privacy restrictions prevent publishing information which may identify an individual or entity.
You can view the latest report on the Foreign InvestmentExternal Link website.