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Foreign investment in Australia: recent developments

April 2, 2011

Foreign investment in Australia: recent developments
Source: Parliamentary Library of Australia

Introduction
This note reports recent changes in Australia’s foreign investment policy as released by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) in January 2011. It also explores trends in global foreign direct investment (FDI) as covered in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2010 World Investment Report (released on 22 July 2010). Lastly, this Background Note analyses the dynamics of two way investments between Australia and its investment partners during the past eight years, based on data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on 30 July 2010.

Australia’s foreign investment policy
According to the foreign investment policy published by the Treasurer and governed by the FIRB, a foreign person must apply for approval to invest in an Australian business (including a piece of rural land having the characteristics of a commercial holding) if the foreign investment results in an interest of 15 per cent or more in an Australian business which is valued above a threshold of $231 million (or $1 005 million for US investors on 1 January 2011).1 All foreign investment proposals are scrutinised by the FIRB against national interest criteria on a case-by-case basis.

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Categories: Australia, business and economics, international relations, Parliamentary Library of Australia
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