Doing business in Australia

The general stance of Australia's Foreign Investment Policy is that it encourages and welcomes foreign investment. Australia's stable economy and government, transparent legal system and abundance of natural resources have made it an increasingly popular destination for Chinese investors in recent times. Over the past 18 months, Chinese projects worth over A$34 billion (US$31.5 billion) have been submitted to the Australian Foreign Investment and Review Board (FIRB) for approval. The most high profile proposals being made by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are in the Australian resources sector as China moves offshore to secure long-term supply of natural resources. Increasingly, privately owned Chinese enterprises have also taken direct interests in both Australian public and private companies. In response to the increased volume of applications coming before the FIRB, the Australian Government has recently moved to clarify Australia's foreign investment regime especially as it applies to foreign government investments.

Australia's foreign investment regime

Australia's foreign investment regime is regulated by a combination of federal legislation and policy. All direct investments by foreign governments and foreign government owned enterprises irrespective of their size require notification to the FIRB for prior Government approval under the Federal Government Policy. Notification under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (FATA) will also be required for all investments made by privately owned foreign investors and foreign government-owned entities that meet the specified monetary thresholds under the Act and the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989.