Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment (Vacancy Fees) Act 2017

No. 127, 2017

An Act to amend the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015, and for related purposes

Contents

1 Short title 2

2 Commencement 2

3 Schedules 2

Schedule 1—Amendments 3

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015 3

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment (Vacancy Fees) Act 2017

No. 127, 2017

An Act to amend the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015, and for related purposes

[Assented to 30 November 2017]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1 Short title

This Act is the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment (Vacancy Fees) Act 2017.

2 Commencement 1

Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Commencement information	Commencement information	Commencement information
Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Provisions	Commencement	Date/Details
1. The whole of this Act	At the same time as Schedule 3 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Act 2017 commences. However, the provisions do not commence at all if that Schedule does not commence.	15 December 2017

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3 Schedules

Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Amendments

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015

1 Subsection 4(1)

Insert:

Foreign Acquisitions Regulation means the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015.

2 Before section 5

Insert:

3 Section 5

Omit “Part 6”, substitute “Part 6 (fees in relation to actions) or Part 6A (vacancy fees for foreign acquisitions of residential land)”.

4 Before section 6

Insert:

5 Subsection 9(1)

After “a fee” (first occurring), insert “specified in this Division”.

6 Section 11 (heading)

Repeal the heading, substitute:

11 Regulations may lower fees specified in this Division 7 Subsections 11(1) and (2)

Omit “Part”, substitute “Division”.

8 Subsection 12(1)

Omit “Part” (wherever occurring), substitute “Division”.

9 Subsection 12(8) (definition of base amount)

Omit “Part” (wherever occurring), substitute “Division”.

10 Subsection 12(8) (paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of the definition of base financial year)

Omit “Part” (wherever occurring), substitute “Division”.

11 At the end of Part 2

Add:

12A Vacancy fees

The amount of the vacancy fee a foreign person is liable to pay in relation to a dwelling on residential land is worked out in accordance with the following table.

Note 1: Part 6A of the Foreign Acquisitions Act sets out the liability of a foreign person for a vacancy fee.

Note 2: An order mentioned in item 6 of the table could specify that a foreign person may acquire interests in Australian land only to an extent specified in that order: see item 3 of the table in subsection 67(3) of the Foreign Acquisitions Act.

Note 3: Generally, regulations may lower the amount of a fee specified in Division 2 of this Part: see section 11. Fees specified in that Division are subject to indexation: see section 12.

Note 4: A residential land (near-new dwelling interests) certificate is an exemption certificate under section 43A of the Foreign Acquisitions Regulation.

Note 5: A residential land (other than established dwellings) certificate is an exemption certificate under section 43B of the Foreign Acquisitions Regulation.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 7 September 2017

Senate on 19 October 2017]

(192/17)