Can foreigners buy property in Australia?

Who can buy what

The “who” question is explained on our FIRB approval guide. The ban is described by Treasury as the Government’s policy, applied by refusing applications to buy established homes. Buying residential property without approval you needed is still a breach of the law. See penalties.

What foreign buyers can buy

• New dwellings. A dwelling that has not been previously sold as a dwelling and has not been lived in (or, if it is in a development and the developer sold it, not lived in for more than 12 months in total). The ATO says it will generally approve an application to buy a new dwelling, unless it is a single dwelling built to replace demolished homes.
• Off-the-plan dwellings. Treated as new dwellings. Some developers hold an exemption certificate so each buyer does not need their own approval, up to $3 million per buyer per development.
• Vacant residential land. Land on which fewer than 10 dwellings could reasonably be built. You must build at least one dwelling, finish within four years of approval, send evidence of completion within 30 days and not sell before construction is finished.
• A redevelopment that adds at least 20 dwellings. An exception to the ban, assessed case by case.

What the ban covers

Foreign persons, including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies, cannot buy an established dwelling unless an exception applies. The ban runs from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029. It was originally due to end on 31 March 2027 and was extended by 2 years and 3 months in the 2026–27 Budget on 12 May 2026. The earlier allowance for a temporary resident to buy one established home to live in no longer exists.

The exceptions are narrow, all still need approval, and they are decided case by case:

• Redevelopment that will significantly increase housing stock, meaning at least 20 additional dwellings.
• Housing on a commercial scale, such as build-to-rent developments, retirement villages, aged care, student accommodation and specialist disability accommodation.
• Housing for workers from Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste, including under the PALM scheme, provided by a foreign-controlled employer.
• Established dwellings that are incidental to a larger commercial transaction, such as the purchase of agricultural land, a mine or a joint venture interest.

Applications lodged before 1 April 2025 were assessed under the earlier rules. A foreign lender taking a mortgage over a home is not caught by the ban.

Can I live in it or rent it out?

Either. Approval for a new dwelling carries no ongoing rule about use. The condition to remember is the annual vacancy fee: if the home is not lived in, or genuinely available to rent on a lease of 30 days or more, for at least 183 days in a year, you pay a fee equal to double your original application fee.

What it costs

• The application fee: $15,600 for a new home or vacant land of $1 million or less in 2026–27.
• A state surcharge on stamp duty in most states: 9% in NSW, 8% in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, 7% in Western Australia and South Australia. None in the ACT or the Northern Territory.
• Annual land tax surcharges in several states, and the vacancy fee if the home sits empty.

Tax after you buy

• Rent you earn is taxed at foreign-resident rates: 30c in the dollar on the first $135,000 (the 2025–26 rates, the latest the ATO has published), with no tax-free threshold.
• From 1 January 2025 the buyer withholds 15% of the sale price when a foreign resident sells Australian property. The seller can ask the ATO for a variation if the withholding would be more than the tax owed.
• A foreign resident cannot claim the main residence capital gains exemption, except in narrow life-event circumstances.

Tax depends on your own circumstances and your home country’s rules. Speak to a registered tax agent who works with non-residents.

How many properties can I buy?

There is no limit on the number of new dwellings or vacant land parcels a foreign person can buy, provided each purchase is approved or covered by an exemption certificate.

Frequently asked questions

firbapproval.com.au is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Treasury or the Australian Taxation Office. We do not lodge or process applications. Applications are made to the ATO. General information only, not legal, tax, migration or financial advice.