Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act (Australia, 1975)

The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (FATA) is Australia's principal statute for reviewing foreign investment. It allows the Treasurer to prohibit, condition or unwind specified actions where statutory tests are met. The Foreign Investment Review Board advises; it does not make the final ministerial decision. Thresholds, exemptions, fees and notification duties depend on the current Act, regulations, investor, asset and transaction date.

Legal architecture

The Act distinguishes significant actions, notifiable actions, notifiable national security actions and reviewable national security actions. The regime covers interests in Australian entities, businesses, land and specified national-security assets. Different monetary thresholds and ownership tests apply, and some national-security categories have a zero-dollar threshold.

The Treasurer may decide that an action is contrary to the national interest or national security, impose conditions, prohibit it or order disposal where the statutory requirements are satisfied. Call-in powers can bring certain unnotified actions into review. A last-resort power addresses defined national-security risks after an earlier approval, subject to statutory conditions.

FIRB examines proposals and makes recommendations. Treasury supports policy and case administration. The Australian Taxation Office administers specified residential-real-estate and compliance functions. These institutions should not be merged when attributing a decision or enforcement action.

Statecraft use

FATA provides a defensive statecraft tool for managing ownership, control, access and dependency in sensitive sectors. Conditions can protect governance, information, supply, tax compliance or operational continuity while allowing an investment to proceed. Prohibition and disposal are stronger interventions and require identification of the exact decision and legal basis.

The national-interest test is broader than national security and is applied case by case under published policy. Treaty-partner thresholds and exemptions can shape exposure but do not guarantee approval. Foreign state investors face additional rules reflecting control and strategic-risk concerns.

Current position at 30 July 2026

The Act and Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 remain in force in amended form. Current guidance, monetary thresholds, fee schedules and exemption certificates must be checked for each transaction. Applicable thresholds can change with indexation, amendment and international-agreement status. Public statements about individual proposals may describe government concerns but are not substitutes for the decision instrument or statutory reasons.

Transaction analysis

A transaction assessment should begin with the acquirer, ultimate ownership and any foreign-government connection. It must then identify the asset, percentage interest, value, sector, land status and whether the action has already occurred. Separate tests determine whether notification is mandatory, voluntary notification is prudent, an exemption applies or the call-in power remains available. Conditions may attach to an approval and can generate continuing reporting or governance duties. Approval under FATA does not replace competition, sectoral, tax, critical-infrastructure or corporate approvals. Conversely, commercial sensitivity or public controversy does not establish that the Treasurer has power to prohibit a transaction. The current statutory gateway and review standard control.

See also

Foreign investment screening · Critical infrastructure protection · Supply-chain resilience · Economic statecraft

Sources

• Federal Register of Legislation, Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975, checked 30 July 2026.
• Federal Register of Legislation, Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015, checked 30 July 2026.
• Australian Treasury, foreign investment guidance, checked 30 July 2026.
• Australian Treasury, 'Quarterly report on foreign investment, 1 October to 31 December 2025', 29 May 2026.
• Australian Treasury, Foreign Investment, checked 30 July 2026.
• Australian Taxation Office, foreign investment compliance, checked 30 July 2026.