The Federal Government has been conducting extensive reviews of the policies around Foreign Investment in Australia. From 29 March 2020, to protect international raids on struggling companies during the current pandemic, the threshold for determining whether particular foreign investments made are subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) was temporarily reduced to Nil, thereby requiring all foreign investment to be reviewed regardless of the value. The timings of the reviews may now take up to 6 months. For more information see: https://firb.gov.au/about-firb/news/changes-foreign-investment-framework-0
In addition, on 31 July 2020, the Federal Government released the exposure draft of the Foreign Investment Reform (Protecting Australia’s National Security) Bill 2020 for public consultation which takes into account the reforms to Australia’s foreign investment framework announced on 5 June 2020. Submissions are due by 31 August 2020 and it will be interesting as to what the outcomes will be. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available. For more details on the proposals see the Treasurer's website. https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/josh-frydenberg-2018/media-releases/foreign-investment-review-board-consultation-exposure
If you have a matter concerning foreign investment, Davityan Lawyers can assist you with your matter or with a Foreign Investment Review Board application. Contact our friendly team at info@davityanlawyers.com for more information.
