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FIRB Foreign-Buyer Approval and State Stamp-Duty Surcharges in Australia
Document Checklist
Passport
Required: Valid passport — passport number, country of issue, and expiry date are entered into the foreign-investor profile
Cost: Free at the application stage (passport issuance is a separate process in the applicant's home country)
Identity anchor for the foreign-investor account held with the Australian Taxation Office. Full legal name as shown on the passport must match across the foreign-investor profile and the property contract.
Visa grant notice or VEVO record
Required: Visa class and status — current visa grant notice or VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) record where the applicant holds an Australian visa
Cost: Free
Required for temporary residents to establish the foreign-person basis under the ordinarily-resident test. Temporary residents are foreign persons because the visa imposes a time limit on continued presence.
Foreign investor account ID
Where to get: Issued by the ATO after first registration in Online services for foreign investors
Required: Account-level identifier carried across all applications by the same foreign person
First-time users register for the account before lodging the first application. Access to Online services for foreign investors uses myID (the new federal digital identity, replacing the legacy myGovID branding).
Property contract or contract of sale
Required: Property address, lot and plan details (or title reference), purchase price or expected purchase price, vendor details, intended use, and expected settlement date
Where to get: Drafted by the vendor's solicitor or conveyancer; commonly drafted 'subject to FIRB approval'
The purchase price determines the federal application fee tier; the property address determines the state-surcharge regime that will apply at settlement.
Tax File Number or Australian Business Number
Required: TFN (individual) or ABN (corporation) where the applicant holds one
Cost: Free (TFN and ABN are issued by the ATO)
Not all foreign-person applicants will hold a TFN or ABN at the time of the first application. The foreign-investor account ID identifies the applicant in the absence of a TFN.
Corporate structure documentation
Required: For corporate or trustee applicants — beneficial ownership, shareholdings, and substantial-interest information sufficient for the ATO to determine whether the applicant is a foreign person under the statutory test
Where to get: Drawn from the applicant's own corporate records and trust deed
Where two or more persons each not ordinarily resident in Australia hold an aggregate substantial interest in a corporation, the corporation is a foreign person. Limited partnerships with foreign limited partners holding 20% individually or 40% in aggregate fall within the foreign-person definition.
Redevelopment plan and timeline
Required: For applications relying on the significant-redevelopment exception to the established-dwelling ban — number of additional dwellings, demolition plan, construction timeline, evidence the property will be vacant at settlement
Conditions: At least 20 additional dwellings; property vacant at settlement; no part of the existing dwelling occupied from settlement until construction is complete; all construction completed within 4 years of approval
The narrowest of the three exceptions to the foreign-buyer ban on established dwellings. The 20-additional-dwelling threshold sits in FIRB Guidance Note 6 and is the operative test for whether the redevelopment exception applies.
Conveyancer or solicitor engagement
Required: Australian-licensed conveyancer or solicitor for the property transaction
Why: State surcharge assessment is administered at the state revenue office and is typically completed by the conveyancer in the lead-up to settlement
A conveyancer or solicitor is the operational bridge between the federal approval (held by the buyer) and the state-surcharge settlement (paid to the relevant state revenue office). Engagement at the contract stage is the standard practical step.
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