FIRB Approval for Property Finance

FIRB approval is the government permission commonly needed before a foreign person acquires Australian residential property, subject to exemptions. FIRB means Foreign Investment Review Board, which advises the Treasurer. The approval decision and the lender’s loan decision are separate.

For a broker, the task is to establish the purchase pathway and collect its evidence before relying on a settlement date. Residential applications go through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The Board’s official role is advisory, with decision responsibility resting with the Treasurer.

Decide Which Approval Question Applies

Start with who acquires the property, how they hold it and what they buy. Overseas income alone doesn’t settle the approval question. Treasury’s foreign-investor definitions include individuals and foreign-controlled entities, so a company or trust needs its own analysis.

Collect these facts for the client’s solicitor or the responsible authority:

• Each purchaser’s legal name, citizenship, visa status and residence history.
• The proposed title holders and ownership shares, including joint tenancy or tenancy in common.
• For an entity, its incorporation details, shareholders, controllers and trust beneficiaries where relevant.
• The property address and title, purchase price, intended use and contract status.
• Whether the property is vacant residential land, a new or near-new dwelling, an established dwelling or mixed-use land.
• Any existing approval or developer exemption certificate relied on for this purchase.

As at 3 October 2026, foreign persons generally need approval for residential land regardless of value. The 1 July 2026 residential guidance states that established-dwelling purchases are generally prohibited from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029. Limited exceptions apply.

A temporary visa and plans to live in the property don’t, by themselves, create an established-home purchase pathway. Refer uncertain purchaser status, mixed-use classification and claimed exemptions to the client’s solicitor or the authority. Record the conclusion and the transaction facts it covers before selecting finance on that basis.

Include State Duty in the Purchase Budget

Foreign purchaser surcharge duty is a separate state charge where it applies. It sits alongside ordinary stamp duty and the federal application fee in the funds needed to complete the purchase. A federal exemption doesn’t establish a state surcharge exemption.

Ask the conveyancer to calculate the buyer’s duty under the rules applying to the actual transaction date and ownership structure. Use the relevant revenue office’s guidance, checked as at 3 October 2026:

Property location	Official duty source
New South Wales	Revenue NSW: surcharge purchaser duty
Victoria	State Revenue Office: foreign purchasers
Queensland	Queensland Revenue Office: additional foreign acquirer duty
Western Australia	RevenueWA: foreign buyers duty
South Australia	RevenueSA: foreign ownership surcharge calculation
Tasmania	State Revenue Office Tasmania: foreign investor duty surcharge
Australian Capital Territory	ACT Revenue Office: conveyance duty
Northern Territory	Territory Revenue Office: stamp duty

The territory links provide the applicable duty guidance. The table doesn’t imply that every jurisdiction imposes a foreign purchaser surcharge. Keep the conveyancer’s calculation with the deposit and settlement-cost records.

Check Timing and Contract Dependencies

Where approval is required, put it into the contract timetable before the client becomes unconditionally committed to buying. Treasury’s Residential Land Guidance Note permits a contract conditional on foreign investment approval. The solicitor must handle the clause and explain when the purchaser becomes bound.

Use separate milestones for government approval and finance:

1. Have the client obtain the purchase-pathway advice and any required contract condition before signing or bidding.
2. Have the client or authorised representative lodge the residential application through ATO Online services for foreign investors. Retain the application reference and fee-payment record.
3. Prepare the lender submission while recording the outstanding government decision accurately. Identify which lender conditions depend on receiving it.
4. On receipt, send the decision and conditions to the solicitor and lender. Reconcile the purchaser and property details against the contract.
5. Before settlement, confirm that the required government documents and lender conditions are satisfied and the solicitor has confirmed the contract position.

An application receipt proves lodgement. A fee receipt proves payment. Neither proves that permission to acquire the property has been granted.

In a hypothetical file, finance documents are ready but the foreign-investment decision is outstanding as the contract condition approaches its deadline. Tell the client and solicitor promptly. The solicitor handles any extension or contractual response, while you tell the lender which approval remains outstanding.

Don’t record the government decision as complete or promise settlement on the original date. Keep valuation, loan-offer expiry and lender document deadlines visible while the solicitor resolves the purchase timetable.

Build the Lender Evidence File

Build a file that lets the lender match the borrower and proposed security to the legally confirmed purchase pathway. The following is a preparation checklist, not a universal lender document rule. The selected lender’s policy and approval conditions determine its requirements.

Record	What the broker checks
Passport and identity documents	Names match the borrower, purchaser and approval records
Visa and residency evidence	The lender assesses the documented status, with relevant expiry dates recorded
Company or trust records, where applicable	The purchaser entity and its ownership match the legal advice and contract
Executed contract and later amendments	Price, property, purchasers and dates match the current transaction
Government decision and attached conditions	The file holds the complete decision, including validity and purchase limits
Exemption evidence, if relied on	The solicitor’s explanation identifies the category and facts supporting it
Deposit and settlement funds	Statements show available funds and the source of overseas transfers or gifts
Duty calculation and fee receipts	The funds-to-complete calculation includes the actual purchase costs
Income and liability records	The lender can assess repayment capacity and existing commitments

Government permission concerns the acquisition. The lender independently assesses the borrower, property security and ability to repay. Permission doesn’t guarantee finance, and a finance pre-approval doesn’t replace required government permission.

If the borrower earns overseas income, use the foreign income home loan guide to prepare that evidence separately. Keep original statements and any translations required by the chosen lender together.

For the lender-policy part of the file, Bulma’s Policy Advisor quotes the policy behind its answers. You can retain those quotations with your submission notes. The government decision and the solicitor’s purchase-pathway advice remain separate records.

Handle Changes and Uncertain Cases

Treat a changed purchaser, property or contract as a reason to review the approval evidence before relying on it. Record what changed, when it changed and which original documents are affected. Keep earlier versions so the lender and solicitor can follow the sequence.

For example, adding a purchaser after approval can change the ownership facts on which the original application relied. Send the amended contract and proposed ownership details to the solicitor. Ask the ATO whether the existing residential approval needs a variation or a new application.

Treasury’s submission guidance routes residential exemption certificates and variations to ATO services. A variation request doesn’t itself change an existing approval. Keep the lender informed of the outstanding request and retain the resulting decision before marking the issue resolved.

For uncertain approval status or a document whose validity is unclear, use the ATO’s foreign investment contact route. As at 3 October 2026, the Australian enquiry number is 1800 050 377. Overseas callers can use +61 2 6216 1111 and request the relevant foreign-investment team.

Have the application reference, decision notice and current purchaser details ready. The client or authorised representative must satisfy the ATO’s identity checks before staff discuss their records. Refer interpretation of an exemption or contract rights to the client’s solicitor.

Current Fees, Thresholds, Exemptions and Timing

FIRB application fees depend on the investment type and value, while exemptions depend on the purchaser and acquisition. Use the current official tables for that combination. Approval fees and screening thresholds answer different questions.

Fees and Purchase Thresholds

The 2026–27 Schedule of Fees, effective 1 July 2026, lists $15,600 for a residential-land notifiable action other than an established dwelling, valued from $75,000 to $1 million. A separate lower fee applies to a notifiable action below $75,000.

For an illustrative $800,000 new-dwelling acquisition requiring an individual application, that published fee band is $15,600. This Australian-dollar government application fee excludes stamp duty and other purchase costs. Adjustments or special fee rules require the applicable category to be established first.

The schedule also has an established-dwelling fee table. Paying that fee doesn’t make a prohibited purchase eligible. For an established-home file, resolve the permitted acquisition pathway before budgeting an application.

Treasury’s fees guidance, updated 18 September 2026, explains fee adjustments and variation fees. The correct fee must be paid before the statutory decision period starts.

The 2026 monetary thresholds distinguish investment categories. Residential land generally requires notification regardless of value, subject to exemptions. A fee band’s upper value isn’t a purchase value below which approval is unnecessary.

Exemptions

The Key Concepts Guidance Note, dated 12 December 2025 and current as at 3 October 2026, lists residential exemptions. These include Australian permanent resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens eligible for a special category visa.

It also lists joint-tenancy purchases with a qualifying spouse. That exemption doesn’t cover tenants-in-common purchases. Australian citizens living overseas have a separate Australian-land exemption.

A developer-held certificate can cover certain new-dwelling purchases. Have the solicitor establish that the particular sale falls within the certificate’s terms. Keep the relevant certificate evidence with the file.

An exemption from seeking individual approval and an exemption certificate are different routes. A certificate is an approval with defined limits. Record which route applies to the client and the supporting documents.

Decision Periods and Settlement Dates

Treasury’s Key Concepts Guidance Note states that the usual decision period is 30 days, with a further 10 days to notify the applicant. Where a fee is payable, the period starts the day after correct payment and application in the approved manner.

The guidance allows extensions, including a Treasurer extension of up to a further 90 days and voluntary applicant extensions. These are statutory periods, not a promised approval date. Any published processing estimate also describes expected handling time rather than a guaranteed outcome.

Record the application date and correct fee-payment date separately from the contract and settlement deadlines. Use the actual decision notice to close the approval task. Then confirm that the lender file and the solicitor’s settlement instructions reflect the same purchase.