Corporations Point-in-Time Service Updates

The Corporations Point-in-Time Service has been updated to include the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Commercial Land Lease Threshold Test) Regulations 2020 (Cth).

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Commercial Land Lease Threshold Test) Regulations 2020

These Amending Regulations amend the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 to reinstate certain monetary thresholds for leasehold interests in non-sensitive commercial land that is not vacant. In April 2020 Part 4 of the Regulation was amended to reduce the monetary threshold to zero (nil) for all types of land where an action to acquire an interest in that land was taken on or after the announcement time on 29 March 2020. The measures was designed to give greater control over foreign investment at a time of disruption to the Australian economy as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Amending Regulations reinstate the monetary thresholds in the Regulation in relation to the renewal of leasehold interests but only in relation to leasehold interests in non-sensitive commercial land that is not vacant and where the leaseholder held a substantially similar interest prior to the changes that were implemented in April. This addresses concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the impact of the amendments made in April by no longer requiring notification to the Treasurer in relation to these types of actions.

These amendments have been updated in the Point-in-Time Corporations Service current to 6 September 2020. (NB: subscription required).

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