Second Reading Speeches

Foreign Investment Reform (Protecting Australia’s National Security) Bill 2020

Type
Government
Portfolio
Treasury
Originating house
House of Representatives
Status
Act
Parliament no
46

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Summary

Introduced with the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment Bill 2020, the bill amends the:

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975
to: introduce a new national security test which requires mandatory notification of investments in a sensitive national security business or land and allows investments not otherwise notified to be 'called in' for review on national security grounds; provide the Treasurer, as a last resort and in extraordinary circumstances, with the ability to issue a divestment order where there is no other remedy for a national security risk; expand the enforcement, monitoring and investigative powers of the Treasurer and the Commissioner of Taxation; amend the circumstances in which an investor satisfies the change in control test; deems a foreign person to have acquired an interest in securities in an entity where the persons' proportional holdings have increased without the person taking any action; amend the definition of Australian business to include state and territory business functions; expand the tracing rules to unincorporated limited partnerships; enable information sharing with foreign governments; create a Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets which incorporates the existing Register of Foreign Ownership of Water Entitlements and Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land, and create additional obligations to notify the Registrar of a broader range of interests; provide that fees are payable for new types of actions; and make consequential and technical amendments;
Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975
and
Taxation Administration Act 1953
to enable the Commissioner of Taxation to disclose protected information to the Foreign Investment Review Board for certain purposes; and
Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975
and
Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018
to make consequential amendments. Also repeals the
Register of Foreign Ownership of Water or Agricultural Land Act 2015
.

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