Foreign Investment in Australia

Foreign Investment Framework – Australia

Report
10 minute read
May 2026

Australia welcomes and encourages foreign investment that aligns with the national interest. Such investment is considered vital for the country's economic growth and long-term prosperity.

Australia offers investors from Asia with several advantages, including stable economic growth, a highly skilled workforce, and proximity to rapidly growing markets in Asia. Additionally, the country boasts strong governance, a robust legal system, and excellent infrastructure.

The Australian Government promotes foreign investment through its foreign investment policy, international treaties and free trade agreements.

Number of approved commercial investment proposals 2024-25

Top 10 sources of investment by value of approved commercial investment proposals 2022–23 to 2024–25

	Number			Value ($ billion)
_Country	_2022–23	_2023–24	_2024–25	_2022–23	_2023–24	_2024–2025
_USA	₆₀₄	₅₀₄	₅₂₃	_34.7	_65.7	_122.3
_Japan	₁₃₈	₁₁₄	₁₅₅	_14.0	_20.0	_15.0
_Canada	₃₄₂	₃₁₆	₂₉₇	_14.4	_6.3	_12.5
_Singapore	₂₃₇	₂₆₅	₂₇₄	_14.4	_9.4	_11.2
_{Saudi Arabia}	₇₇	₆₀	₅₈	_1.2	_3.9	_9.1
_{South Korea}	₇₇	₁₀₇	₁₀₃	_6.6	_1.0	_7.4
_UK	₁₈₇	₁₇₆	₂₀₃	_6.6	_2.9	_5.9
_{South Africa}	₃₀	₂₀	₃₅	_1.3	_0.5	_4.5
_Germany	₈₄	₈₇	₉₇	_2.0	_6.4	_4.4
_UAE	₁₂₉	₁₅₈	₁₆₁	_2.9	_4.9	_3.8

Value of approved commercial investment proposals 2024-25 (A$ billion)

Number and value of approved investment proposals by industry sector 2022–23 to 2024–‍25

	^Number			^{Value ($ billion)}
	^2022–23	^2023–24	^2024–25	^2022–23	^2023–24	^2024–25
^Services	³⁸⁹	³⁴¹	³⁷²	^43.9	^54.9	^112.6
^{Commercial Real Estate}	⁴²³	⁴⁶⁴	⁴⁸⁰	^50.1	^35.8	^54.0
^{Finance & Insurance}	⁸⁰	⁸²	⁷⁶	^32.6	^21.6	^33.5
^{Mineral exploration & development}	¹²⁶	¹³⁰	¹⁶⁹	^13.2	^54.9	^31.5
^{Manufacturing, Electricity & Gas}	¹⁶⁹	¹³⁷	¹⁶¹	^24.8	^14.5	^13.0
^{Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing}	²⁰⁴	¹³⁴	¹⁸⁵	^8.5	^5.3	^7.1
^{Residential Real Estate}	^6,576	^5,581	^3,922	^7.9	^6.6	^4.9

Median processing times for decided commercial investment proposals 2024-25

Foreign Investment Watch (FI Watch)

^Date	^{Acquiror Name}	^{Acquiror Nation}	^{Target Name}	^{(Target) Type}	^{FIRB Status}	^{Size (A$m)}	^Reference
^29-Sep-26	^{Merchant Wealth Partners}	^USA	^{Ironbark Financial Group}	^Private	^Pending	^255.9	^Link
^28-Sep-26	^{Vox Royalty Corp. (via Vox Royalty Australia Pty Ltd)}	^USA	^{Sorby Hills silver-lead project (Boab Metals Limited)}	^Private	^Pending	^18.4	^Link
^25-Sep-26	^{Novotech Health Holdings}	^Singapore	^{Agilex Biolabs (Healius Limited)}	^Private	^Pending	^160.0	^Link
^22-Sep-26	^{LB Group}	^China	^{Durack and Yandanooka mineral sands (Western Australia)}	^Private	^Pending	^160.0	^Link
^22-Sep-26	^{Journey Beyond (owned by Crestview Partners)}	^USA	^{Kelsian Group tourism portfolio}	^Private	^Approved	^149.9	^Link
^21-Sep-26	^{Artemis Gold Inc.}	^Canada	^{Vista Gold Corp. (Mt Todd gold project, NT)}	^Public	^Pending	^597.8	^Link
^16-Sep-26	^{Anthropic (via Australian subsidiary)}	^USA	^{Western Downs Digital Park data centre (Dalby, QLD)}	^Private	^Pending	^N/A	^Link
^8-Sep-26	^{Goldman Sachs Alternatives}	^USA	^{NOJA Power}	^Private	^Pending	^N/A	^Link
^3-Sep-26	^{Energy Vault Holdings, Inc.}	^USA	^{Project land for 125 MW / 1 GWh Stoney Creek BESS (Northern NSW)}	^Private	^Approved	^N/A	^Link
^9-Sep-26	^{Wildcat Resources LLC (Wildcat Infrastructure-led syndicate)}	^USA	^{Austal USA (Austal Limited)}	^Private	^Pending	^{1,725.0–1,863.0}	^Link
^28-Aug-26	^{Energy Fuels Inc.}	^USA	^{Australian Strategic Materials Limited (ASM)}	^Public	^Approved	^445.5	^Link
^20-Aug-26	^OX2	^Sweden	^{BNRG Renewables Limited and Leeson Power Holdings Pty Ltd}	^Private	^Pending	^N/A	^Link
^17-Aug-26	^{OceanaGold Corporation (TSX: OGC) (NYSE: OGC)}	^Canada	^{Ausgold Limited}	^Public	^Pending	^776.0	^Link
^27-Jul-26	^{Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (via North Haven Infrastructure Partners IV / McLeod Bidco Pty Ltd)}	^USA	^{Epic Energy (Moomba to Adelaide Pipeline System)}	^Private	^Pending	^~1,000	^Link
^24-Jul-26	^{Achilles Group (backed bby PE Bridgepoint Group PLC)}	^UK	^Cm3	^Private	^Pending	^N/A	^Link
^1-Jul-26	^{Alcoa Corporation}	^USA	^{South32 aluminium value chain assets}	^Private	^Pending	^8121.0	^Link
^26-Jun-26	^{Xenith Infrastructure Group (via Xenith IG Australia Holdings Pty Ltd)}	^Singapore	^{Luminet Fibre Pty Ltd (Melbourne Fibre Project, Swoop Holdings)}	^Private	^Pending	^11.0	^Link
^11-Jun-26	^{Sembcorp Industries Ltd}	^Singapore	^{Alinta Energy Pty Ltd (incl. Loy Yang B Power Station)}	^Private	^Approved	^6500.0	^Link
^21-Aug-26	^{Dragoneer Investment Group, KKR & Amwins Group (via Starboard BidCo Pty Ltd)}	^USA	^{Steadfast Group Limited}	^Public	^Pending	^7700.0	^Link
^19-May-26	^{Hillhouse Investment (via Rava Partners)}	^Singapore	^{Barwon Investment Partners}	^Private	^Pending	^N/A	^Link
^7-May-26	^{Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd}	^China	^{Atlantic Lithium Limited}	^Public	^Approved	^292.0	^Link
^1-May-26	^{POSCO Holdings Inc}	^{South Korea}	^{30% of LithCo (MinRes' 50% interests in Wodgina and Mt Marion lithium mines)}	^Private	^Pending	^1200.0	^Link
^23-Feb-26	^{Franco-Nevada Corporation (via Franco-Nevada Australia Pty Ltd)}	^Canada	^{Minerals 260 Limited}	^Public	^Approved	^220.0	^Link

About FI Watch

The FI Watch by the Bridging Continents Series is a quarterly summary of publicly reported news regarding foreign investment proposals in Australia.
The primary purpose is to gather and present information on notable foreign investment transactions under review by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), thereby offering timely insights into foreign investment trends in Australia within a landscape of increased regulatory scrutiny.
While the Bridging Continents Series specialises in inbound investment from select Asian economies to Australia, FI Watch seeks to offer a more comprehensive overview, covering foreign investment proposals involving entities from across the globe.

Methodology

The data for FI Watch is sourced from news articles in the Factiva global news database. A systematic search was conducted using the following specific search string: (FIRB OR "Foreign Investment Review Board") AND (application OR approval OR block OR proposal OR approved OR denied OR rejected OR rejection OR denial OR Hold) AND (merger OR acquisition OR takeover OR investment OR foreign buyer) AND (inbound OR foreign OR overseas).
This search query is crafted to identify news articles that mention the FIRB in relation to critical transactional stages, such as applications for, approvals of, or rejections of mergers, acquisitions, and other foreign investments in Australia.

Limitations

FI Watch aggregates information from publicly available news sources and is not an official release from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) or any Australian government agency. The content is intended for informational purposes only.
The report includes proposed or announced deals reported in the media, which may not constitute a comprehensive list of all applications submitted to or reviewed by the FIRB. Not all FIRB-related activities are disclosed to the public. Details such as transaction sizes and summaries are based on the information as reported in the source articles.

Australia evaluates foreign investment proposals individually under its foreign investment framework. The Australian Government has the authority to:

Approve a proposed investment without objection

Impose conditions on an investment

Prohibit a proposed investment

Require the disposal, sale, removal, or transfer of an acquired interest, or otherwise unwind a transaction.

The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) is an advisory body within the Australian Government that evaluates investment proposals from foreign individuals and entities. It advises the Australian Treasurer on whether these proposals should be approved according to the Government's foreign investment policy and whether they adhere to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (FATA).

Factors considered when assessing investments under the national interest test typically include national security; competition; the impact on other Australian Government policies, like tax revenues and the environment; the impact on the economy and the community; and the character of the investor.

Sensitive Sectors

Specific restrictions on foreign investment apply in sectors such as residential real estate, media, telecommunications, transport, defence related industries, critical infrastructure, national security businesses, national security land, encryption and security technologies and communications systems and extraction of uranium or plutonium or the operation of a nuclear facility.

Agribusiness

Agribusiness is treated as a separate class of investment with its own thresholds. Any acquisition of a direct interest in an agribusiness that is above the monetary threshold is noticeable to FIRB.

Foreign Government Investors

Foreign government investors are treated differently from other foreign individuals or entities due to the different view that the Australian Government takes of the national interest when a foreign government is involved in the investment.

Real Estate

The Australian Government has a specific policy in relation to residential, commercial, agricultural real estate and mining and production tenements.

Agricultural Land

Foreign individuals or entities must notify FIRB before any acquisition of an interest in agricultural land where the cumulative value of agricultural land owned by the individual (or entity) is more than AU$ 15 million.

Mining or Production Tenements

Foreign individuals or entities, other than certain agreement country investors, must obtain approval to acquire an interest in a mining or production tenement regardless of value.

Wind and Solar Farms

Land on which there are developed solar, and wind farms is generally treated as developed commercial land rather than possibly being vacant commercial land or agricultural land.

National Security Land

Foreign investors require approval prior to acquiring an interest in national security land or acquiring a legal or equitable interest in an exploration tenement in respect of national security land, irrespective of value.

Regulatory Framework Processes

Foreign investors must notify the Treasurer of investments meeting criteria, with mandatory notifications for those exceeding thresholds and voluntary notifications for potentially exempt ones.

Investors must pay a fee upon submitting an investment proposal, as per the Fees Imposition Act.

Investments are assessed case-by-case to maximize flows and protect Australia's interests, using a 'national interest' or 'national security' test as needed.

The Australian government scrutinizes foreign investments for tax risks, focusing on high-risk transactions and adhering to OECD/G20 guidelines.

Consultation with relevant Commonwealth, state, and territory government departments and agencies is undertaken during the assessment.

Following submission of an investment proposal and fee, the Treasurer has 30 days for review, extendable by 90 days each; the decision, communicated within 10 days, approves, conditions, or prohibits the investment.

{{contentList.dataService.numberHits}} {{contentList.dataService.numberHits == 1 ? 'result' : 'results'}}

Follow PwC Australia

Contact us

Sung Lee

Director, Asia Practice, PwC Australia

Jason Hayes

Partner, Asia Practice Leader and Ascent Program Lead, PwC Australia

Sean Lee

Partner, Tax Reporting and Innovation, PwC Australia

Hide

© 2017 - 2026 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.