Often, a foreign investor must seek the Australian Treasurer’s approval to directly or indirectly invest in Australia. The application is made to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), which will consult with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on the tax impact of the investment.

In most circumstances, foreign investors should expect that the standard tax conditions will be imposed on them. Sometimes, specific or additional tax conditions may also be imposed and some preliminary ATO views on the proposed investment may be noted as part of the conditions.