Too limited to change housing outcomes
Critics argued the bill was only a small step that would do little to improve home ownership or ease the housing crisis because it did not tackle the larger supply and demand pressures affecting the market.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment)
Current status
This bill became law on Apr 8th, 2024.
Policy area
Budget, tax & economy
What does this bill do?
Foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes still apply even if they conflict with Australia’s bilateral tax treaties, unless another tax law clearly says otherwise.
Why was it introduced?
Uncertainty over whether bilateral tax treaties could override foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes left those charges open to challenge. The bill clarifies that these non-income taxes still apply unless another tax law clearly says otherwise, including for liabilities from 1 January 2018.
Broader context
Australia already used foreign investment rules and property-related charges to steer overseas buyers towards adding to housing supply, but taxes payable from 1 January 2018 were left open to doubt where bilateral tax treaties appeared to conflict with foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes. After the government announced a December 2023 package to raise foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. for established dwellings and vacancy fees, this bill was introduced to remove that uncertainty, Parliament passed it in March 2024, and the clarification took effect at Royal AssentThe point when the bill became an Act of Parliament and the clarification took legal effect. on 8 April 2024.
Key criticism
The main criticism was that the bill was too limited to make much practical difference, with opponents saying weak enforcement of vacancy charges and legal complications would blunt its effect on housing. These concerns were raised mainly by Coalition speakers who still backed the bill or did not clearly oppose it, so the criticism was narrow rather than a broad push to block the measure.
Who supported it?
Hon Julie Collins MP introduced this bill. It passed on the voices.
Introduced in House 07 Feb 2024
Passed House 14 Feb 2024
Passed Senate 27 Mar 2024
Became law 08 Apr 2024
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 08 Apr 2024
Final passage
Passed without a counted vote
Members called out ‘aye’ or ‘no’ — no individual votes were recorded.
Passage speed
61 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
What does this bill do?
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Foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes still apply even if they conflict with Australia’s bilateral tax treaties, unless another tax law clearly says otherwise.
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The change covers taxes like foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and state or territory property taxes, but it does not change how income taxThe tax type that the bill does not change, because the clarification is aimed at non-income taxes such as foreign investment fees and property charges. and fringe benefits taxA separate tax on employee benefits that the bill expressly leaves untouched when it deals with the treaty issue. are treated.
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The new rule reaches back to relevant non-income taxes payable from 1 January 2018, including taxes linked to periods ending on or after that date.
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The Act started on Royal AssentThe point when the bill became an Act of Parliament and the clarification took legal effect., so the clarification took effect as soon as the bill became law.
Show source excerpts
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The operation of a provision of a bilateral tax treaty that is given the force of law under subsection 5(1) of the Agreements Act is subject to anything inconsistent with a provision of a law imposing tax (other than Australian tax) unless that law expressly provides otherwise. This amendment provides an express ordering rule to ensure the law imposing non-Australian tax prevails in the event of any inconsistency with the provisions of Australia’s bilateral tax treaties. This clarifies the Government’s policy position that Australian Commonwealth, state and territory taxes, other than income taxes and fringe benefits taxes, prevail in the case of any inconsistency with the Agreements Act.[Schedule 1 to the Foreign Investment Bill, item 1, subsection 5(3) of the Agreements Act]
Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) explanatory memorandum -
The Foreign Investment Bill resolves any inconsistencies arising between the Agreements Act, which gives the provisions of Australia’s bilateral tax treaties the force of law, and laws imposing taxes (other than Australian tax). ‘Australian tax’ takes its meaning as defined in section 3 of the Agreements Act, which broadly incorporates income tax (including Medicare Levy) and fringe benefits tax.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) explanatory memorandum -
The amendment made by this Schedule applies in relation to:
Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) as-passed bill text -
The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) as-passed bill text
Context
Broader context for this bill
Australia already used foreign investment rules and property-related charges to steer overseas buyers towards adding to housing supply, but taxes payable from 1 January 2018 were left open to doubt where bilateral tax treaties appeared to conflict with foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes. After the government announced a December 2023 package to raise foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. for established dwellings and vacancy fees, this bill was introduced to remove that uncertainty, Parliament passed it in March 2024, and the clarification took effect at Royal AssentThe point when the bill became an Act of Parliament and the clarification took legal effect. on 8 April 2024.
- 01 Jan 2018
Backdated non-income taxThe tax type that the bill does not change, because the clarification is aimed at non-income taxes such as foreign investment fees and property charges. liabilities begin from 1 January 2018
The bill was framed to apply to relevant non-income taxes payable on or after this date, showing the period of past liabilities the government wanted to protect from treaty-based challenges.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) explanatory memorandum ↗ - 10 Dec 2023
Government announces higher foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. in MYEFOThe government budget update that announced the higher foreign investment fees and vacancy fees referred to in the bill.
The explanatory memorandum says the government announced changes on this date to triple fees for established dwellings and double vacancy fees as part of its housing and foreign investment package.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) explanatory memorandum ↗ - 07 Feb 2024
Bill introduced to protect foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar property taxes
The minister said the bill would clarify that foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar imposts prevail over inconsistent double tax agreementsTreaties between Australia and another country that stop the same income being taxed twice, but in this bill they are not treated as wiping out these foreign investment charges. so they could continue to be imposed on foreign nationals buying Australian property.
Hansard ↗ - 27 Mar 2024
Parliament passes the bill
Passage through both houses completed the government's legislative response to the treaty-override uncertainty affecting these non-income property-related charges.
Parliamentary timeline ↗ - 08 Apr 2024
Royal AssentThe point when the bill became an Act of Parliament and the clarification took legal effect. brings the clarification into force
Royal AssentThe point when the bill became an Act of Parliament and the clarification took legal effect. turned the bill into law and made the clarification operative immediately while preserving coverage for liabilities dating back to 1 January 2018.
Parliamentary timeline ↗
Legislative route
How did it move through Parliament?
House Senate
Introduced 07 Feb 2024
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 07 Feb 2024
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Second reading debate 13 Feb 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Sent to Federation Chamber for debate 13 Feb 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Referred to Federation Chamber
Federation Chamber debate 13 Feb 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Second reading debate
House second reading agreed 13 Feb 2024
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
Returned from Federation Chamber 14 Feb 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Reported from Federation Chamber
House third reading agreed 14 Feb 2024
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Introduced 26 Feb 2024
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 26 Feb 2024
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Senate second reading agreed 27 Mar 2024
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
Senate third reading agreed 27 Mar 2024
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Passed both houses 27 Mar 2024
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Finally passed both Houses
Assent 08 Apr 2024
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe point when the bill became an Act of Parliament and the clarification took legal effect., turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
The main case against this bill
The main criticism was that the bill was too limited to make much practical difference, with opponents saying weak enforcement of vacancy charges and legal complications would blunt its effect on housing. These concerns were raised mainly by Coalition speakers who still backed the bill or did not clearly oppose it, so the criticism was narrow rather than a broad push to block the measure.
No party represented in the debate opposed the bill, but some speakers questioned its practical impact.
Enforcement and implementation doubts
Critics said the measure could be undermined in practice because vacancy charges were not being enforced effectively and the broader scheme could create legal and practical complications.
Further sources
Votes
Recorded votes
How the bill itself passed
The bill passed both chambers on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage.
Passed House passed the bill
House agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed
House passed the bill
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Passed Senate passed the bill
Senate agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed
Senate passed the bill
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Parliamentary debate
Who spoke, and what they said
Start here — lead voices
Sponsor speech Supports
Julie Collins
Collins supports the bill, saying it clarifies how foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory taxes interact with Australia's double tax agreementsTreaties between Australia and another country that stop the same income being taxed twice, but in this bill they are not treated as wiping out these foreign investment charges. so those charges can continue to apply to foreign buyers.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead supporting voice Supports
Michael Sukkar
Sukkar says the coalition will support the bill, but argues it is too limited and will have little real effect because the government has no workable way to enforce the vacancy charges.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead voice Supports
Libby Coker
Coker supports the foreign investment bill because she says it will remove uncertainty around how foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. interact with state and territory property taxes and double tax agreementsTreaties between Australia and another country that stop the same income being taxed twice, but in this bill they are not treated as wiping out these foreign investment charges., so the fees can keep operating.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead voice Supports
Carol Brown
Brown supports the bill, saying it clarifies that foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes can continue to apply to foreign nationals who buy Australian property.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
Labor
4 speakers · 5 contributions · 4 support
Labor
4 speakers · 5 contributions · 4 support
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Libby Coker ★ Coker supports the foreign investment bill because she says it will remove uncertainty around how foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. interact with state and territory property taxes and double tax agreementsTreaties between Australia and another country that stop the same income being taxed twice, but in this bill they are not treated as wiping out these foreign investment charges., so the fees can keep operating.
“That's why I support this bill, and it's also why I voice my support for the Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Bill 2024. This bill works in tandem with the foreign acquisitions bill. It will clarify the uncertainty associated with the interaction between foreign investment fees and similar state and territory property taxes and Australia's double tax agreements. It also clarifies foreign investment fees and similar imposts to ensure they prevail over the double tax agreements. This will provide certainty that such fees continue to be imposed.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Carol Brown ★ Brown supports the bill, saying it clarifies that foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes can continue to apply to foreign nationals who buy Australian property.
“This Bill amends the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 to clarify the interaction between foreign investment fees, and similar state and territory property taxes, and Australia's double tax agreements. This change ensures that foreign investment fees and similar imposts prevail so that they can continue to be imposed on foreign nationals who purchase Australian property. This change will have retrospective effect.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Julie Collins ★ 2 contributions Collins supports the bill and says it is part of the government’s housing agenda, because it clarifies that foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and related property taxes can keep applying and will help steer foreign investment toward new housing stock.
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Julie Collins on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Minister's second reading speech
Collins supports the bill, saying it clarifies how foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory taxes interact with Australia's double tax agreementsTreaties between Australia and another country that stop the same income being taxed twice, but in this bill they are not treated as wiping out these foreign investment charges. so those charges can continue to apply to foreign buyers. She notes the change will operate retrospectively.
“This bill amends the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 to clarify the interaction between foreign investment fees, similar state and territory property taxes, and Australia's double tax agreements. This change ensures that the foreign investment fees and similar imposts prevail so that they can continue to be imposed on foreign nationals who purchase Australian property. This change will have a retrospective effect.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗Second reading speech
Collins supports the bill and says it is part of the government’s housing agenda, because it clarifies that foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and related property taxes can keep applying and will help steer foreign investment toward new housing stock. She argues the measure will support more homes for Australians and should pass without amendment.
“The Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Bill 2024 will amend the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 to clarify that foreign investment fees and similar state and territory property taxes prevail over Australia's double tax agreements. This will provide certainty that such fees and taxes can continue to be imposed.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗ -
Anne Stanley Stanley supports the bill and says it puts Australia's interests first by clarifying that foreign investment feesCharges payable by foreign buyers under Australia’s foreign investment regime, including fees for buying residential property. and similar state and territory property taxes can continue to apply to foreign buyers.
“I'm proud to stand on this side of the chamber to support the bills before us today, and I do so in the knowledge that the Treasurer is putting the interests of Australia and Australians first. This was demonstrated by the recently announced tax packages and is demonstrated again by this piece of legislation. I'm sure it will be welcomed by members of my community.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Coalition
2 speakers · 1 support · 1 unclear
Coalition
2 speakers · 1 support · 1 unclear
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Michael Sukkar ★ Sukkar says the coalition will support the bill, but argues it is too limited and will have little real effect because the government has no workable way to enforce the vacancy charges.
“We will support the bill, even though we see no prospect of this having any impact. I hope that the minister heeds our advice, that you can't increase a tax without any mechanism of enforcing it.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Keith Wolahan Wolahan criticises the bill's approach as a talking-point scheme that will not lift home ownership and says it would create major legal and practical complications.
“We have now seen a partisan interjection. When we look for serious solutions to a serious problem—those were fine words that the Prime Minister used in 2012—then we get talking points. We get a scheme that is not designed to actually lift homeownership. It's designed to say that the government will have a seat at the dining table and own your property. That will create enormous complexities. We know when households and couples are required to buy a home the sad reality is many of those relationships break down. If a party to that relationship is the government, how is that dealt with? How is that going to play out through the courts? Whether it's the HAFF or this scheme, we are seeing talking points driving the potential for us to do better. We need to move away from the talking points and actually solve the problem.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Full record
- Act title
- Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Act 2024
- Act number
- Act No. 18, 2024
- Became law
- 08 Apr 2024
- Takes effect
- The whole of this Act 08 Apr 2024
- Registered
- 09 Apr 2024
- Administered by
- Department of the Treasury
- Final law metadata was collected from the APH progress table; commencement rows were parsed from the bill text.
- Status
- Act -- Collected from the APH bill page.
- Originating house
- House of Representatives
- 07 Feb 2024
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
- 07 Feb 2024
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
- 13 Feb 2024
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 13 Feb 2024
House · Referred to Federation Chamber
Referred to Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 13 Feb 2024
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 13 Feb 2024
House · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
- 14 Feb 2024
House · Reported from Federation Chamber
Reported from Federation Chamber
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 14 Feb 2024
House · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
- 26 Feb 2024
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
- 26 Feb 2024
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
- 27 Mar 2024
Senate · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
- 27 Mar 2024
Senate · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
- 27 Mar 2024
Parliament · Finally passed both Houses
Passed both houses
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
- 08 Apr 2024
Assent · Assent
Assent
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe point when the bill became an Act of Parliament and the clarification took legal effect., turning the bill into an Act.