A wider enforcement regime is the centrepiece of the report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics on foreign investment in residential real estate.
Released yesterday, the report examines the benefits of foreign investment in residential property, whether it is boosting supply of new housing and benefiting local industry, how Australia's foreign investment regime compares to others internationally and how policy relating to foreign acquisitions of residential property can be improved.
The report made four key findings:
- recognising there is no accurate or timely data that tracks foreign investment in residential real estate, the committee recommended the establishment of a national register of land title transfers that records the citizenship and residency status of all purchasers of Australian real estate,
- improving the workings of the Foreign Investment Review Board,
- bolstering the compliance and enforcement regime of the foreign investment rules, and
- recommending an application fee of A$1500 for each approval application made to FIRB by a non-resident foreign investor in order to fund improved administration and monitoring by FIRB.