Foreign ownership of housing: ATO to enforce ban (March 2025 Federal Budget Update)

Published on 26 March 2025 by Drew Pflaum
Categories: Government Budgets

The ATO will be provided $5.7 million over four years from 2025–2026 to enforce the ban on foreign residents  from purchasing established properties. In addition, the ATO and Treasury will be provided with $8.9 million over four years from 2025–2026 and $1.9 million per year ongoing from 2029–2030 to implement an audit program and enhance their compliance approach to target land banking by foreign investors.

The Government has already announced the ban on foreign persons (including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies) from purchasing established dwellings for two years from 1 April 2025, unless an exception applies. Exceptions to the ban will include investments that significantly increase housing supply or support the availability of housing on a commercial scale, and purchases by foreign-owned companies to provide housing for workers in certain circumstances.

The land banking measures are designed to ensure “foreign investors comply with requirements to put vacant land to use for residential and commercial developments within reasonable timeframes”. Land banking refers to the practice of entities purchasing land and holding it until such time as its value has increased and then selling (ie with no development or use of the land).