Charging for Legal Advice

There is an increasing trend for lawyers acting for applicants to ask the Overseas Investment Office for advice on the interpretation of the Overseas Investment Act or about how the Act applies in relation to a particular fact situation. Assisting with these queries is time consuming, and diverts the Offices legal staff from application processing and other essential work.

The Overseas Investment Office considers that may be appropriate, particularly with regard to complex queries, to charge for this service. Under Part 5 of the Overseas Investment Regulations 2005, the Office may charge $120 per hour for the provision of services.