Foreign purchases by one buyer cannot exceed $14.75 million without regulatory approval
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Australia has tightened its foreign farmland ownership rules amid concerns that it is losing control of its own food security.
The new rules slash the amount beyond which land purchases would require regulatory approval.
As of March 1, foreign purchases of agricultural land worth more than $14.75 million will be subject to regulatory approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board, prime minister Tony Abbott said.
The country had previously re-quired regulatory approval on foreign purchases of agricultural land only if it was worth more than $234 million.
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“This is not saying that we don’t want foreign investment,” he said.
“We do want foreign investment, but it’s got to be the right investment, the right investment that serves our purposes. It needs to be transparent,” Abbott said.
The tighter rules will also prevent multiple purchases below the threshold, with regulatory approval being required as soon as total transactions by one purchaser pass $14.75 million.
Australia’s Bureau of Statistics said last June that 90 percent of agricultural land is fully owned by Australians, although Abbott promised greater scrutiny after the rural sector expressed skepticism about those findings.
Abbott said the Australian Taxation Office will conduct a review in June of all land ownership to provide a more detailed “stock take,” with a registry of foreign ownership to come at an unspecified date.
Foreign ownership of Australian land has been a controversial issue. By announcing the tighter rules, the embattled Abbott will win favour from some. He is looking to tighten his grip on power after narrowly surviving an internal party challenge to his leadership earlier this month.
