Additional foreign acquirer duty in Queensland: who pays the 8% and when

When AFAD applies

QRO lists three conditions, all of which must be met:

1. You are an acquirer in the transaction and a foreign person.
2. The transaction involves AFAD residential land, including chattels or existing rights.
3. Liability for the transaction arises on or after 1 October 2016.

AFAD residential land is land in Queensland that is or will be used solely or mainly for residential purposes. QRO includes homes and apartments (with chattels), vacant land on which a home or apartment will be built, land for residential development such as unit blocks and subdivisions, and buildings refurbished, renovated or extended for residential use. Land used for hotels and motels is excluded. Retirement villages and student accommodation are looked at case by case.

AFAD applies whether the property is bought as an investment or to live in.

Who is a foreign person

• Individuals. You are foreign if you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident. QRO counts a permanent resident as someone with a permanent visa, or a New Zealand citizen with a Special Category visa.
• New Zealand citizens. A New Zealand citizen who holds a Special Category visa when entering the transaction is not liable. QRO says a New Zealand citizen who does not hold one, for example because they live in New Zealand, is liable. If evidence shows a person entered Australia only to get the visa and avoid AFAD, AFAD will still apply.
• Companies. A corporation is foreign if it is incorporated outside Australia, or if foreign persons (or related persons of foreign persons) have a controlling interest of at least 50%.
• Trusts. A trust is foreign if at least 50% of its interests are held by foreign individuals, foreign corporations, trustees of foreign trusts or their related persons, including partners in a partnership.

How it is calculated

AFAD is 8% of the foreign acquirer's interest in the dutiable value of the AFAD residential land. The GST-inclusive purchase price is used, and the value of any chattels acquired in the transaction is included. AFAD is then added to the transfer duty.

QRO's own examples:

In the second row the transfer duty is worked out on the whole price, and AFAD only on the foreign person's half.

A further worked example. A foreign buyer pays $750,000 for an investment unit. On QRO's general scale, duty on a dutiable value from $540,000 to $1,000,000 is $17,325 plus $4.50 for each $100 over $540,000. That is $17,325 + (210,000 / 100 x $4.50) = $17,325 + $9,450 = $26,775. AFAD is 8% x $750,000 = $60,000. The total is $86,775.

QRO's scale counts each part of $100 as a full $100, so a price that is not a round hundred rounds up for the transfer duty step.

Concessions and exemptions

Home concessions reduce transfer duty only. QRO says a home or first home concession does not reduce AFAD, which is still calculated on the dutiable value. For transactions entered into on or after 1 August 2026, QRO also says that claiming a home, first home, first home (new home) or first home vacant land concession requires you to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree. QRO's example has two buyers: one citizen buying 75% who qualifies, and a non-citizen buying 25% who does not. The second buyer's share is charged full transfer duty plus AFAD.

Specified foreign retirees. A specified foreign retiree may be exempt from AFAD on their principal place of residence bought on or after 1 January 2023. The term covers holders of retirement visas (subclass 405 or 410), and some people with a pending parent visa application whose last substantive visa was a retirement visa. To keep the exemption, QRO says the owner must not sell or transfer the property before moving in or within 1 year of moving in, and must not lease the whole property in that window. Leasing part of it within 1 year is also restricted, with a limited exception for leases that started between 10 September and 5 December 2024.

Exempt transactions. If a transaction is exempt from transfer duty, landholder duty or corporate trustee duty, it is also exempt from AFAD.

Developers. For transactions entered into on or after 15 December 2025, QRO may grant an exemption to Australian-based foreign entities whose commercial activities add to Queensland's housing stock (Public Ruling GEN012). For earlier transactions it considered ex gratia relief. There is also a build-to-rent concession for agreements from 1 July 2023. These are applications made to QRO, not automatic outcomes.

Changes in status

AFAD is imposed at the time liability for the duty arises, which is generally the date of the agreement. QRO gives this example: a foreign individual signs an agreement, has permanent residency by the settlement date and plans to live in the property. AFAD still applies, because the person was foreign when the agreement was made.

The reverse can matter for companies and trusts. If AFAD was not imposed because the acquirer was not foreign, but the corporation or trust becomes foreign within 3 years of the liability date, the transaction is reassessed. The corporation or trustee must notify the Commissioner within 28 days and lodge a notice for reassessment (Form D4.2). QRO sets out similar rules for agents and for companies bought under pre-incorporation contracts.

Lodging and paying

AFAD is treated like transfer duty for timing, liable parties, lodgement and stamping. If AFAD applies, QRO says the transaction documents and any required forms must be lodged within 30 days. If duty including AFAD is not paid by the due date, a charge for the unpaid amount is imposed on the acquirers' interest in the land, and in some circumstances the Commissioner may apply to the Supreme Court for an order to sell it.

Frequently asked questions

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