How does a developer's FIRB new dwelling exemption certificate work, and how is it applied for?

What the certificate is and what the law asks of the buyer

Section 57 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 lets a person who owns, or will own, land and plans to sell new dwellings built on it to foreign persons apply for a certificate. A near-new dwelling certificate, made under regulation 43A, does the same job for dwellings that a developer sold before where that earlier sale never settled. The initial fee for the near-new certificate is nil if the developer has applied for, or holds, a new dwelling certificate for the same development.

Section 45(1) of the Act is the provision that protects the buyer. A foreign person's purchase is not treated as a significant action when all of these line up:

• the buyer acquires the interest from the person named in the certificate;
• the development is the one specified in the certificate;
• that person gave the buyer a copy of the certificate before the buyer acquired the interest; and
• the certificate's conditions were met, or the buyer did not know at the time that one of them had not been.

This is different from the certificate an individual can hold for themselves, which covers one new dwelling or one vacant lot in a named state for about 12 months. That one is covered on the exemption certificates page.

Which developments can get one

Treasury's Guidance Note 6 says a developer, Australian or foreign, can apply for a specified development if it:

• will have 50 or more dwellings, not counting townhouses;
• has development approval from the relevant government authority; and
• has foreign investment approval for the land, where that was needed, with its conditions being met.

The Act defines a "development" as one or more multi-storey buildings under one development approval, with at least 50 independent self-contained dwellings other than townhouses (regulation 15 sets the number at 50). Treasury adds that house and land packages are not a development for this purpose. A project that has not yet received unconditional approval to start building may not be eligible.

Large projects can be certified in stages. In Treasury's example, a 200-dwelling project in two stages gets a certificate for the first 90-dwelling stage, and the developer can apply again for stage two once its plans are ready. The wording on townhouses matters for buyers of townhouse projects, covered in buying a townhouse as a foreign buyer.

How the developer applies

The ATO's page for property developers describes the process: the developer logs in to Online services for foreign investors, goes to Lodgment, then Residential application, and chooses "New and near-new dwelling exemption" as the application type. The ATO's page was last updated in March 2025.

Treasury says each application is assessed case by case. Factors include:

• a marketing schedule showing when, where and how the development will be advertised in Australia;
• the number of dwellings, and details of each unit such as bedrooms, car spaces and expected price;
• who owns the development, including shareholders and beneficiaries;
• architectural plans and artist impressions; and
• compliance history, if the developer or a related party has held an earlier certificate and not met its conditions.

For 2026-27 the initial fee is $67,400. A reconciliation fee is then payable for each dwelling sold to a foreign person, equal to what that buyer would have paid applying individually. These are reported and paid every six months, within 30 days of the end of each period. Treasury's exemption certificate guidance says these applications are typically more complex than applications for individual transactions. Section 61 of the Act deals with the time limit for deciding certificate applications, so ask the ATO how it applies to a particular application.

Conditions that matter to buyers

Worked example. A buyer purchases one apartment for $900,000 and a second for $1,100,000 in the same development. The total is $900,000 + $1,100,000 = $2,000,000, inside the $3 million limit. A third purchase at $1,200,000 would bring the total to $3,200,000, so that purchase needs its own approval. Its 2026-27 application fee falls in the "$2 million or less" band: $31,300. The developer's reconciliation fees on the first two would be $15,600 and $31,300, or $46,900 together.

What buyers commonly check

Because the protection in the Act turns on the certificate itself, buyers and their conveyancers commonly ask the developer for:

• a copy of the certificate before the contract is signed;
• confirmation that it names this development and this stage;
• the value limits that apply and where the buyer's running total sits against $3 million;
• who bears the reconciliation fee, and whether the contract price already includes it; and
• whether the developer is meeting the certificate's conditions.

None of the official pages reviewed for this guide describe a public search for these certificates. The route they describe is the developer's copy. Questions about a particular certificate can go to the foreign investment enquiry line on 1800 050 377 from Australia or +61 2 6216 1111 from overseas.

After settlement

A certificate removes the application, not the later obligations. The owner still registers the property within 30 days of settlement, lodges an annual vacancy fee return, and pays any state surcharges (see state surcharges). If a dwelling bought under a developer's certificate sits empty, the vacancy fee is double the fee the buyer would have paid applying individually. More on that in the vacancy fee amount guide. Current projects are listed under new homes.

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.