Commonwealth Consolidated Regulations Commonwealth Consolidated RegulationsFor subsection 12A (8) of the Act, the Act does not apply in relation to an acquisition of an interest in Australian urban land of each of the following kinds, namely, the acquisition of such an interest by a foreign person:
(a) that is:
(i) a charitable institution operating in Australia primarily for the benefit of persons ordinarily resident in Australia; or
(ii) a trustee of a foreign‑controlled trust established for charitable or benevolent purposes, where the beneficiaries of the trust are persons ordinarily resident in Australia;
(b) that is a life insurance company operating in Australia and the acquisition is made by way of investment of its statutory funds (within the meaning of the Life Insurance Act 1995 ) primarily for the benefit of policy holders ordinarily resident in Australia;
(c) that is an insurance company (other than a life insurance company) operating in Australia and the acquisition:
(i) is made from the reserves of the company; and
(ii) is consistent with the company's obligations under the Insurance Act 1973 ;
(d) that is a corporation operating in Australia that maintains a superannuation fund for its employees, (within the meaning of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 ), for the benefit of the members of the fund or their dependents, being persons ordinarily resident in Australia, and the acquisition is made as an investment of all or part of the assets of that fund;
(e) where:
(i) the acquisition is of an interest in land on which a dwelling will be or is being constructed; and
(ii) the Treasurer has certified that the sale of that interest, (whether or not the certificate also refers to other interests) by a specified real estate developer to foreign persons is not contrary to the national interest; and
(iia) the conditions (if any) set out in the certificate are satisfied; and
(iii) the real estate developer provides the foreign person with a copy of that certificate;
(f) where:
(i) the land is being used, or is able to be used immediately and in its present state, for industrial or non‑residential commercial purposes; and
(ii) the acquisition is wholly incidental to the conduct of the existing or proposed business activities of the foreign person (other than business activities that include acquisitions of land or the development of, or investment in, land or the development or operation of any form of accommodation facility);
(g) where the acquisition is of an interest in a time share scheme and the entitlement of the foreign person and any of that person's associates is not in the aggregate greater than 4 weeks in any year;
(h) where:
(i) the Treasurer has certified that a programme of land acquisitions by a foreign person in respect of a year is not contrary to the national interest; and
(ii) the acquisition is an acquisition referred to in that certificate;
(i) where the acquisition is of shares as a consequence of which the foreign person holds less than a substantial interest in an Australian urban land corporation less than 10 per cent of the real estate assets of which are in the form of developed residential real estate that the corporation has not developed itself, being an Australian urban land corporation that is:
(i) publicly listed on an Australian Stock Exchange; and
(ii) primarily involved in the development of land;
(j) where the acquisition is of shares as a consequence of which the foreign person holds less than a substantial interest in an Australian urban land corporation less than 10 per cent of the real estate assets of which are in the form of developed residential real estate, being an Australian urban land corporation that is publicly listed on an Australian Stock Exchange, or, where 2 or more foreign persons hold interests in the Australian urban land corporation, those foreign persons hold less than an aggregate substantial interest in that corporation;
(k) who is an Australian citizen not ordinarily resident in Australia;
(l) that is a corporation in which the government of an overseas country within the meaning of the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1967 holds a substantial interest and the acquisition is of an interest in land where the land is to be used exclusively for the purposes of the diplomatic mission of that country or as a diplomatic residence;
(m) that is an Australian corporation that is a foreign person only because of direct interests held in it by Australian citizens not ordinarily resident in Australia;
(n) that is a trustee of a trust estate, where the trustee is a foreign person only because of direct interests held in the trust estate by Australian citizens not ordinarily resident in Australia;
(o) where the acquisition is of units in a unit trust as a consequence of which:
(i) the foreign person holds less than a substantial interest in an Australian urban land trust estate:
(A) that is a unit trust that accepts funds from the public on the basis of a prospectus approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission of a State or Territory;
(B) that has at least 100 unit holders;
(C) that is primarily engaged in the development of land; and
(D) that has less than 10 per cent of its real estate assets in the form of developed residential real estate that the trust has not developed itself; or
(ii) the foreign person holds less than a substantial interest in an Australian urban land trust estate:
(A) that is a unit trust that accepts funds from the public on the basis of a prospectus approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission of a State or Territory;
(B) that has at least 100 unit holders; and
(C) that has less than 10 per cent of its real estate assets in the form of developed residential real estate;
or, where 2 or more foreign persons hold interests in the Australian urban land trust estate, those foreign persons hold less than an aggregate substantial interest in that trust estate;
(p) if:
(i) the acquisition is of an interest:
(A) in non-residential commercial land; or
(B) in land that comprises a hotel, motel, hostel or guesthouse, or an individual dwelling that is part of a hotel, motel, hostel or guesthouse; and
(ii) the land is valued at:
(A) for land which is being acquired by a prescribed foreign investor -- less than:
(I) for the calendar year 2009 -- $953 000 000; or
(II) for any later calendar year -- the amount worked out under regulation 13; and
(B) for land the whole or part of which is entered in the Register of the National Estate and the interest is being acquired by a foreign person other than a prescribed foreign investor -- less than $5 000 000; and
(C) in any other case -- less than $50 000 000; and
(iii) the land is not vacant land;
(q) where the acquisition is of an interest in land that is zoned as residential property and the person:
(i) is, at the time of acquisition, the holder of a permanent visa (within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958 ); or
(ii) is, at the time of acquisition, the holder of a special category visa (within the meaning of that Act); or
(iii) if he or she had entered Australia lawfully immediately before the time of acquisition, would have been entitled to the grant, on presentation of a passport, of a special category visa (within the meaning of that Act); or
(iv) is an Australian corporation that is a foreign person only because of a direct interest held in it by a person to whom subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) applies; or
(v) is the trustee of a trust estate, where the trustee is a foreign person only because of a direct interest held in the trust estate by a person to whom subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) applies;
(r) if:
(i) the acquisition is of an interest in land on which a dwelling exists that is, or may be, used for residential purposes, other than land that is part of a subdivided building in which hotel services are provided; and
(ii) the Treasurer has certified that the sale of an interest of that kind to foreign persons is not contrary to the national interest; and
(iii) the conditions (if any) set out in the certificate are satisfied; and
(iv) the person who intends to dispose of the interest gives the foreign person a copy of the certificate;
(t) where the acquisition is of an interest in land that is zoned as residential property and:
(i) the person is the spouse of an Australian citizen; and
(ii) the interest is held by the person and his or her spouse as joint tenants;
(u) that is the responsible entity of a managed investment scheme registered under section 601EB of the Corporations Act 2001 and the acquisition is primarily for the benefit of scheme members ordinarily resident in Australia;
(v) where the following circumstances apply:
(i) the foreign person is a corporation;
(ii) the foreign person is in the business of providing custodian services to other persons in relation to the holding of interests in Australian urban land;
(iii) the foreign person acquires the interest in Australian urban land in the course of the foreign person's business;
(iv) the foreign person exercises rights associated with the interest only at, or in accordance with, the direction of:
(A) another person that is providing custodian services to a person in relation to the holding of the legal interest in the Australian urban land; or
(B) the holder of an equitable interest in the interest in the Australian urban land that is receiving custodian services that are related to that interest;
(w) if:
(i) the foreign person is:
(A) a temporary resident; or
(B) an Australian corporation that is a foreign person only because of a direct interest held in it by a person referred to in sub‑subparagraph (i) (A); or
(C) the trustee of a trust estate, where the trustee is a foreign person only because of a direct interest held in the trust by a person referred to in sub-subparagraph (i) (A); and
(ii) the acquisition is of an interest in land that is zoned as residential property, and one or more of the following circumstances apply:
(A) the acquisition is of a single residential block of vacant land that is zoned to permit the construction of no more than one residential dwelling on the block and the person does not have an interest in any vacant land adjacent to the land to be acquired;
(B) the acquisition is of an interest in land on which a single established residential dwelling exists that is to be used as the person's principal place of residence;
(C) the acquisition is of an interest in land on which a new residential dwelling exists.