✦ Plain-English Summary

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment 2020

What it does

This bill updates how Australia charges fees when foreign companies or individuals buy Australian assets — mainly businesses and residential land. It simplifies the fee system by removing outdated definitions and linking fee amounts to inflation adjustments, so they stay current with the cost of living rather than staying fixed.

Why it matters

Foreign investment fees help Australia maintain some control over who owns critical assets and residential property. By updating how these fees are calculated and indexed to inflation, the government ensures these charges don't become outdated or ineffective over time.

Key details

• What's changing: The bill removes old rules about "base amounts" and "base financial years" and replaces them with a new inflation-linked system (called an "indexation factor"), so fees automatically adjust each year rather than requiring parliament to manually update them.
• Who it affects: Anyone or any company from overseas looking to buy Australian land, property, or businesses will pay fees calculated under the new system.
• When it starts: The changes take effect once another related law (the Foreign Investment Reform Act 2020) kicks in, ensuring both reforms align and work together.

Official Description

Introduced with the Foreign Investment Reform (Protecting Australia's National Security) Bill 2020, the bill amends the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015 to establish a new fee framework for applications, notices and notifiable national security actions under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 .

Committee Referrals

Senate Economics Legislation Committee; Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

No votes yet.

No votes were recorded for this bill.