Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FOREIGN ACQUISITIONS AND TAKEOVERS ACT 1975 - SECT 26A

             (1)  In this section, person to whom this section applies means:

                     (a)  a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia;

                     (b)  a corporation in which a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation holds a substantial interest;

                     (c)  a corporation in which 2 or more persons, each of whom is a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation hold an aggregate substantial interest;

                     (d)  the trustee of a trust estate in which a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation holds a substantial interest; or

                     (e)  the trustee of a trust estate in which 2 or more persons, each of whom is either a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation, hold an aggregate substantial interest.

             (2)  Where a person to whom this section applies:

                     (a)  enters into an agreement by virtue of which he or she acquires an interest in Australian urban land and did not, before entering into the agreement, furnish to the Treasurer a notice stating his or her intention to enter into that agreement; or

                     (b)  having furnished a notice to the Treasurer stating his or her intention to enter into an agreement by virtue of which he or she is to acquire an interest in Australian urban land, enters into that agreement before:

                              (i)  the end of 40 days after the day on which the notice was received by the Treasurer; or

                             (ii)  the day on which advice is given that the Commonwealth Government does not object to the person entering into that agreement (whether or not the advice is subject to conditions imposed under subsection 25(1A));

                            whichever first occurs;

the person is guilty of an offence and is punishable, on conviction, by a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 2 years, or both.

             (3)  Where:

                     (a)  a person enters into an agreement by virtue of which he or she acquires an interest in Australian urban land; and

                     (b)  the provisions of the agreement that relate to the acquisition of the interest do not become binding until the fulfilment of a condition or conditions set out in the agreement;

the person shall not be taken, for the purposes of subsection (2), to have entered into the agreement until the time when those provisions become binding.

             (4)  Without affecting the operation of section 25, this section does not apply to an acquisition of an interest in Australian urban land if:

                     (a)  that interest is an interest in a share in a corporation;

                     (b)  the acquisition occurs because of a shareholder subscribing for shares in the corporation;

                     (c)  the shares were subscribed for in pursuance of a resolution by the corporation or the directors of the corporation agreeing to make available a number of shares specified in, or ascertained in accordance with, the resolution for allotment to persons who were registered as the holders of shares in the corporation on a day specified in the resolution; and

                     (d)  the proportion of the total shares made available for allotment represented by the shares for which the shareholder so subscribed is as near as practicable to the proportion of the issued shares in the corporation, immediately before the day specified in the resolution, that were held by the shareholder immediately before that day.

             (5)  For the purposes of subsection (4), it is immaterial that the shares in the corporation comprise 2 or more classes of shares to which different rights are attached.