Reforming and renewing Australia’s foreign investment framework

The Australian Government is reforming Australia’s foreign investment framework.

The Australian Government is reforming investment settings, institutions and regulatory processes to make it simpler to invest in Australia.

The move is part of its Future Made in Australia agenda to attract and enable the investment Australia needs to secure its economic future and realise its potential to become a renewable energy superpower.  

The reforms will streamline and strengthen the foreign investment framework. They are designed to deliver a faster and more transparent approach to foreign investment, while protecting Australia’s national interest.

Streamlining consultation and assessment

The Australian Government will streamline regulatory processes to provide faster approvals for known investors with a good compliance record that are making investments in non-sensitive sectors. The Australian Treasury will aim to process 50% of proposals within 30 days from 1 January 2025.

More robust, efficient and effective arrangements will be introduced to scrutinise more complicated and high-risk proposals that involve:

• critical technologies
• critical minerals
• critical infrastructure
• sensitive data sets
• investment near defence sites. 

Improving transparency

The Australian Government will improve transparency to provide clarity and certainty for investors. The Treasury will provide better guidance on:

• priority areas for investment, including those which help deliver the net zero transformation such as critical minerals
• sectors likely to attract greater scrutiny, as detailed above.

More information

• Review Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy.
• Read the Australian Treasurer’s media release on changes to Australia’s foreign investment framework.

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