Anthony Albanese has launched a crackdown on foreigners buying property in Australia after record-high immigration caused a housing shortage.
Foreigners are only allowed to buy an established property in Australia if they are residents and can prove they are living, working or studying locally.
But the Prime Minister, now focused on the cost of living crisis, wants to make it harder for foreigners to buy an established home – encouraging them to instead buy something brand new.
Labor on Wednesday introduced legislation designed to boost the supply of housing, after a record 518,000 migrants moved to Australia during the last financial year.
This caused Australia’s rental vacancy rate to plunge to a record-low of one per cent by November last year, as an influx of international students competed with locals for somewhere to live.
House prices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth last year also surged by double-digit figures despite the Reserve Bank raising interest rates for the 13th time in 18 months to a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent.
Anthony Albanese has launched a crackdown on foreigners buying property in Australia after record-high immigration caused a housing shortage (pictured are prospective buyers of a unit at Chatswood on Sydney’s lower north shore)
The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment Bill 2024 will triple the fee for foreigners buying established homes and double the vacancy fees for foreign-owned dwellings bought since May 9, 2017.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Julie Collins said the changes were designed to ensure foreign investment aligned with the government’s plan to boost affordable housing.
‘These changes further encourage foreign nationals to buy new property instead and help to ensure that those who do get approval follow the rules,’ they said.
Dr Chalmers and Ms Collins argued the legislation would encourage foreigners buying property in Australia to put their money into new homes, and boost the housing stock.
‘The higher fees for established dwellings will encourage foreign buyers to invest in new housing developments,’ they said.
‘This will help create additional housing stock, jobs in the construction industry and support economic growth.
‘The increased vacancy fees will encourage foreign investors to make their unused properties available to renters.’
International students can buy property in Australia to live in but they must sell within six months of graduating and leaving Australia, if they have not become a permanent resident (pictured are students at the University of New South Wales)
International students can buy property in Australia to live in but they must sell within six months of graduating and leaving Australia, if they have not become a permanent resident.
Labor’s legislation didn’t specify increased penalties for international students who failed to sell within six months – something One Nation leader Pauline Hanson had pushed for.
Temporary residents, foreigners living in Australia and short-term visa holders are allowed to buy an investment property or a home to live in – provided they obtained approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Foreign residents who aren’t studying, working or living in Australia are restricted to buying something brand new.
Labor and the states in August over five years from July 1, 2024, but this goal will be difficult to achieve, following a series of home building company collapses.
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