Residential application

Overview

If you're a foreign investor, you need to apply for approval before you purchase residential property in Australia.

To apply for approval, or vary an existing approval, use the residential application in Online services for foreign investors.

An application fee is payable. Your application cannot be processed until payment has been made in full. For instructions on how to pay the application fee see Make payments and view transactions.

If you are planning to purchase one property in a specific state or territory within 12 months, consider if an exemption certificate suits your needs.

You can also:

• check on the status of your application
• view previous applications.

How to apply

Log in to Online Services for foreign investors to apply for or vary an existing approval. From the home page select either:

• Lodgments then Residential application, or
• the Lodge or pay residential application quick link.

Then select Add, then Start, and select the type of residential application that applies to your circumstances.

Ensure you have the information you need to complete the application, as:

• the application must be completed in one session
• the service will time out after 25 minutes of no activity
• you can't save your progress and complete later.

Refer to Types of residential applications to find the information that is relevant to your circumstances.

The foreign investor profile must be complete before starting an application. To prevent errors check if any details are missing, such as a phone number, and update these before starting see Manage your details.

You can use the Print-friendly version to print or save your completed application as a PDF.

Types of residential applications

Choose the type of residential application that applies to your circumstances:

• New dwelling
• Established dwelling
• Vacant land
• Exemption certificate
• Variation – simple
• Variation – complex
• Mortgagee interest
• New or near-new dwelling exemption

New dwelling

A new residential dwelling is a dwelling that:

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

To apply for approval to purchase a new dwelling, you will need to know:

• the relationship between the purchasers in this application – sole purchaser, joint tenant, tenants in common
• the property address
• if a contract has been signed for the purchase of the property, and if so, if it is conditional
• the expected purchase price of the property ($AUD)
• the purchase method (auction, ballot, private offer, tender)
• the date of auction or closing date of tender or ballot, if relevant
• the tenant in common ownership percentage, if relevant
• the attachments you may need – the contract, cover letter, passport, drivers licence, bridging visa.

Established dwelling

To apply for approval to purchase an established dwelling, you will need to indicate what you intend to do with the property, either:

• use the property as a principal place of residence
• redevelop the property
• for companies – use the property for staff accommodation.

You will need to know:

• the relationship between the purchasers in this application – sole purchaser, joint tenant, tenants in common
• the property address
• passport, visa and nationality details (if it is to be used as a principal place of residence).

If relevant, you will need to attach:

• the contract
• your bridging visa.

For redevelopment, you will also need to know:

• if a contract has been signed for the purchase of the property
• how many dwellings currently exist on the property
• how many dwellings will be built on the property
• the expected purchase price of the property ($AUD)
• the purchase method (auction, ballot, private offer, tender)
• the date of auction or closing date of tender or ballot, if relevant
• the tenant in common ownership percentage, if relevant.

Vacant land

Land is vacant if there’s no substantive permanent building on it that can be lawfully occupied by persons, goods, or livestock. Land that previously had an established dwelling on it is generally not considered to be vacant land.

To apply for approval to purchase vacant land, you will need to know:

• the property address
• the relationship between the purchasers in this application – sole purchaser, joint tenant, tenants in common
• if a contract has been signed for the purchase of the property, and if so, if it is conditional
• how may dwellings will be built on the property
• the expected purchase price of the property ($AUD)
• the purchase method (auction, ballot, private offer, tender)
• the date of auction or closing date of tender or ballot, if relevant
• the tenant in common ownership percentage, if relevant.

If relevant, you will need to attach:

• the contract
• your bridging visa.

Exemption certificate

An exemption certificate allows you to purchase one property in a specified state or territory in 12 months. It allows you to bid or make offers on multiple properties and not seek approval for each property you want to purchase. You can only proceed with purchasing one property per exemption certificate.

You would apply for an exemption certificate instead of making a residential application for:

• a new dwelling
• an established dwelling, or
• vacant land.

To apply for an exemption certificate, you will need to know:

• the property type – new dwelling, existing dwelling (principal place of residence only) or vacant land
• the relationship between the purchasers in this application – sole purchaser, joint tenant, tenants in common
• the state or territory in which you are looking to purchase a property (one only)
• the expected purchase price of the property ($AUD)
• the tenant in common ownership percentage, if relevant.

You should provide any attachments that may help us to review the application.

In the case of joint tenants, you will need to confirm that all purchasers are aware of their obligations.

Variation – simple

A simple variation is a minor change to a processed application. For example, correcting a spelling error.

To apply to make a simple variation, you will need to:

• know the foreign investment (FIRB) ID from the original application
• know the relationship between the purchasers in this application – sole purchaser, joint tenant, tenants in common
• include details of the non-material error (if a correction)
• attach a cover letter with the reason and full details of your variation request.

Variation – complex

A complex variation is a change that is not considered minor. For example, to change or remove a condition or extend the validity period of the no-objection notification or exemption certificate. If you need to substantially change the original approval or increase the property limit on an exemption certificate, you will need to submit a new residential application instead of a variation.

To apply to make a complex variation, you will need to:

• know the foreign investment (FIRB) ID from the original application
• know the application fee amount of the original application – this is required to calculate the correct fee
• know the relationship between the purchasers in this application – sole purchaser, joint tenant, tenants in common
• attach a cover letter with the reason and full details of your variation request and any other information that may help us review the variation.

If you're requesting further time for construction, you also need to provide:

• the current status of the construction
• the project timeline
• supporting documents – such as building quotes, or development approval.

If you're in breach of your approval conditions, you need to:

• outline why you have not been able to meet your conditions
• provide supporting evidence.

If you're making a request to sell the property, you need to outline the details of how you intend to sell the property and when.

Mortgagee interest

A mortgagee interest is when a foreign person lends money and repayment is secured or enforced, by granting the foreign person an interest in Australian land by way of a security interest.

To submit an application for a mortgagee interest, you will need to know:

• the applicant details, and to review and update any incomplete details
• the property address
• the property type – new or existing dwelling or vacant land
• the expected mortgage amount ($AUD)
• if a contract has been signed for the purchase of the property, and if so, if it is conditional.

Include any attachments that may help us to review the application, such as:

• the loan agreement
• a cover letter letting us know if the borrowers or lenders are close relatives
• the contract (if relevant).

New or near-new dwelling exemption

This application type is for property developers only, to apply for a:

• new and near-new dwelling exemption certificate
• near-new dwelling exemption certificate only
• near-new dwelling exemption certificate related to an advanced off-the-plan certificate.

To complete the application, the property developer will need to provide:

• the property address
• details if there is an existing structure on the land
• the proposed development expenditure ($AUD)
• how many dwellings will be included in the development
• the average price per dwelling ($AUD)
• the estimated total sales revenue ($AUD)
• how many dwellings have already been sold
• when construction is intended to start and due to finish
• details if the development has received development approval – if yes  
  • the date the development was approved
  • the name of the granting authority
  • the development approval number.

Include any attachments that may help us to review the application, such as:

• copies of any contracts
• development approvals
• architectural plans and artist impressions
• marketing schedules
• a cover letter
• development construction schedules
• a copy of the advanced off-the-plan certificate, if applicable.

Contact details

You can have a different contact for your application than what is listed in your profile. If we have questions about your application, we will contact the person listed.

To review and update your preferred contact details, select Entity or Another contact.

Required information:

• Entity – the details are prefilled. Business or entities also need to specify an individual
• Another contact – name, email, phone, role (lawyer or solicitor, migration agent, real estate agent, accountant, conveyancer, other), company legal name, country.