It was in May that the Australian government announced that Foreigners who have brought property legally only have until the end of November to voluntarily disclose ownership.
Domain quotes what Treasurer Scott Morrison said, "Under the reduced penalty period announced by the government in May, the purchasers linked to the seven properties now have 12 months to sell, rather than the normal three-month period, and will not be referred for criminal prosecution.
"Time is running out for foreign investors to voluntarily come forward if they have purchased established residential real estate without notifying the Foreign Investment Review Board. They have until 30 November 2015 to come to us before we come to them."
According to Domain, those who have come forward were given protection from criminal prosecution and granted 12 months to sell the property.
The grace period is over. Those who did not disclose ownership within the said period will face tougher penalties. Moreover, new stricter procedures for foreign property investment in Australia have taken effect this week. Now, the Australian Taxation Office will closely monitoring foreign residential property investment. It has 50 compliance personnel who will be inspecting potential gaps the ownership of real estate by foreign nationals.
Non-resident foreigners can buy new property in Australia with permission, otherwise they will be fined or will be facing jail sentence. And speaking of fines, Domain quotes Morrison, "Existing criminal penalties have been increased to $135,000 or three years' imprisonment, or both for individuals." The penalty of $135,000 was upped by $45,000 from 90,000 before the new mandate.
Under the new order, foreigners applying for permission to buy a housing property will now have to pay an application fee. For example, a property valued at $1 million and below will have a corresponding fee of $5000. A property worth above $1 million will have an application fee of $10,000. For every million dollar increment on the property value, there will be a $10 thousand-dollar additional. So for a house worth $5 million, the application fee will be $50,000.
Third parties in real estate transactions are not spared by the new law. Third parties like real estate agents can face fines up to o $45,000 for helping foreign buyers breach property investment rules while real estate developers may face a maximum fine of $135,000 or three years' imprisonment if they fail to market apartments in the country.
