Overview of this pathway
If you are an overseas person you can use the primary consent pathway to apply for consent to invest in significant business assets and certain types of sensitive land. This pathway is a streamlined assessment of the risks associated with an overseas investment transaction under the national interest test.
Find out more about the national interest test.
Significant business assets
Significant business assets are business assets of a certain dollar threshold (usually $100 million) whether by value, by consideration, or by expenditure prior to commencing a business. All significant business assets can be acquired under the primary consent pathway, unless they include other assets such as farm land or residential land.
Find out more about:
- investing in significant business assets, and
- information required for primary consent to acquire significant business assets
Sensitive land
The primary consent pathway can be used to acquire sensitive land provided it is not residential land, or farm land. If the land is or includes residential land or farmland then you must apply under the relevant pathway.
If the sensitive land is currently used, and will continue to be used, for production forestry then there are additional requirements to meet the national interest test set out in the Ministerial Directive Letter.
Find out more about Investing in production forestry and forestry rights.
Timeframes
The maximum timeframe for stage one assessment is 15 working days. In most cases, we aim to assess applications in 5 working days of regulator time, which does not include time spent waiting on information.
The timeframe does not start until you have paid the relevant application fee and you have provided all of the required information under s 23 and regulation 69F.
If your primary consent application requires a stage two national interest assessment, the timeframe increases by 55 working days.
Tips for speeding up our application process
Fees
The fee for primary consent application is $22,800 for stage one assessment. If the application requires a national interest assessment a further fee applies.
Overseas investment fees and penalties
Apply
Find information and resources to help you apply for primary consent online:
Applicable legislation
The Overseas Investment Act 2005 outlines the criteria for consent for overseas investments in significant business assets and sensitive land:
Significant business assets are defined in section 13 and sensitive land is defined in section 12.
Consent criteria for investments in significant business assets and sensitive land are detailed in sections 18 and 16 respectively.
The national interest test is assessed in accordance with sections 19-19D and assessment is guided by the directions in the Ministerial Directive Letter.