On 23 October 2012, the Australian Government announced that it will implement a national foreign ownership register for agricultural land following consultations with stakeholders. The Government also announced that the final design of the register will take into account the need to improve transparency of foreign ownership in agricultural land without imposing unnecessary burdens on investors or duplicating work already undertaken by State and Territory governments.
This follows the Government’s announcement of 15 June 2012, establishing a departmental working group to canvass the issues and consult with the community on the development of a national foreign ownership register for agricultural land.
The working group is led by The Treasury and includes representatives from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport and the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.
The working group is now seeking views on a range of design and coordination issues associated with the implementation of a national foreign ownership register for agricultural land, and invites written submissions from stakeholders and the community in response to the consultation paper.
Written submissions should be provided to the working group secretariat by close of business on Friday, 1 February 2013.