澳大利亚于2015年2月11日宣布了其外国投资政策的一些新变化。这些变化反映了澳洲总理托尼•阿博特正在兑现其在2013年联邦大选前做出的承诺，同时也反映了参议院常设委员会在乡村与地区事务及运输方面的建议。

这些变化与澳洲同中国在自由贸易协定中确立的对审查门槛的调整是一致的，并在对澳农地投资上将对其他国家的标准与中国设为一致。

1.1外国投资审查委员会审查门槛的降低

从2015年3月1日起，澳大利亚外国投资审查委员会(FIRB)对购买农业用地的审查门槛金额将会降至1500万澳元（原先为2.52亿澳元）。

该门槛的计算将参考外国投资者持有的澳洲农业用地的累计值，集中包括拟议进行收购的价值。因此，当投资者提出的收购价值小于门槛规定、但其在澳持有的总数达到了审查门槛，或是投资者在目前持有总额超过1500万澳元的情况下还想继续购买农地时，FIRB的审查就须被列入考量。

1.2 数据收集和透明度的增加

自2015年7月1日起，澳大利亚税务局（ATO）将收集在澳洲农业用地方面的外国投资的相关信息，并将开始盘点目前的农地业主所有权。这与建立外国新业主登记制度为标志的对汇报的加强政策是一致的。联邦政府将会建立一项农地的外国业主登记制度。

新变化将使政府能更迅速地报道有关持有澳洲农地的外国业主的水平。

1.3 与现存的自由贸易协定的关系

重要的是，当前存在的自由贸易协定的条款（比较显著的为澳洲与美国、新西兰、智利、韩国与日本之间的自由贸易协定）将凌驾于这些变化之上。这些国家的居民购买农地（外国国企除外）的投资审查门槛较低，目前的审查门槛金额为10.94亿澳元。

1.4 与中澳自由贸易协定的关系

虽然中澳自由贸易协定尚未生效，2014年签署的备忘录中设定的FIRB对购买澳洲农地的中国投资者的审查门槛为1500万澳元、对农业企业投资的审查门槛为5300万澳元。因此最近宣布的FIRB投资门槛的变化与中澳自贸协定是一致的，并使得除中国以外的其他国家的该门槛（上述与澳洲建立了自由贸易协定的国家例外）都与该要求符合。

对于中澳自贸协定中的“农业企业”还未做明确界定，因此适用于5300万投资审查门槛的农业投资的具体定义还有待明确。

这些变化可能引起的实际影响需联系FIRB对 拟议收购澳洲当前农业资产的审查来考虑。FIRB唯一一起被拒绝进行的农业相关重大投资是2014年Archer Daniels Midland Company提出的对GrainCorp Limited的收购。 考虑到被认为是“国家关键基础设施”（比如港口和谷物储藏设施）归属外国业主的问题，这项拟以收购最终被禁止。大多数对于农地的潜在投资并不会引起这方面的问题。所以FIRB审查纵然会被要求用于范围更广的交易中，也不表示此类审查导致投资申请遭拒绝的可能性会增加。

为取得FIRB的批准，一项投资申请需要书面提交包含标的与买家详情、及出售之后业务将如何进行融资与运作的信息。在农地收购中，这些的申请提交通常都较为简单。

目前澳洲政府对于须FIRB批准的申请并未征收任何费用。

一旦提交了申请，FIRB需要决定该收购是否与国家利益冲突，财务部长通常会在30天内作出最后决定。若是政府对于一项收购是否符合国家利益有所顾虑，那么该收购可能会获得有条件的批准，即在该些为解决顾虑而设计的条件得到满足的前提下，该收购可以进行。举例来说，批准将有可能取决于董事会是否包含指定数量的澳洲居民。

目前政府对新审查门槛下的收购及正在进行中的收购尚未阐明立场。因此，在2015年3月1日前签署的、但将于2015年3月1日之后成交的交易是否需要接受FIRB的审查尚不明确。另外，对于未来定将大幅度增加的需被审查的收购，FIRB对如何应对也尚未给出任何提示。

对于澳洲的外国投资政策进一步的变化预期将在接下来的几周出台，尤其是有关在房地产领域的投资。

作者：豪力合伙人Jeremy Loeliger、Katherine-Anne Waldron

Changes to Foreign Investment Review Thresholds for Australian Agricultural Land

On 11 February 2015 important changes to Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy were announced. These changes reflect the implementation of election promises made by Prime Minister Tony Abbott prior to the 2013 Federal Election and recommendations by the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport.

The changes are consistent with revised thresholds agreed with China for the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) and will bring most other countries into alignment with China with respect to investment in agricultural land in Australia.

1.1 Lower threshold for Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) scrutiny

From 1 March 2015, the monetary threshold at which the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) will scrutinise foreign purchases of Australian agricultural land will be reduced to A$15 million (from A$252 million).

This threshold will be calculated by reference to the cumulative value of Australian agricultural land owned by the foreign investor including the value of the proposed acquisition. FIRB scrutiny will therefore become a consideration where investors propose to make smaller acquisitions below the threshold, but their aggregate holding is approaching the threshold for FIRB scrutiny, or for those investors wishing to make further acquisitions when their existing holdings exceed A$15 million.

1.2 Increased data collection and transparency

From 1 July 2015, the ATO will collect information on all foreign investment in Australian agricultural land. It will also commence a stocktake of existing ownership, in line with the increased emphasis on reporting introduced by the establishment of the new foreign ownership register. The Commonwealth will also establish a register of foreign ownership of agricultural land.

These changes will enable the Government to more readily report on levels of foreign ownership of agricultural land in Australia.

1.3 Interaction with existing Free Trade Agreements

Importantly, the terms of any existing Free Trade Agreements (notably those between Australia and each of the United States of America, New Zealand, Chile, Korea, Japan), will prevail over these changes. Acquisitions of agricultural land by residents (other than government bodies) of these countries are subject to a much higher threshold, which is currently A$1,094 million.

1.4 Interaction with the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement

Although the ChAFTA has not yet been ratified, the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2014 contemplated a FIRB review threshold of A$15 million for Chinese investor’s acquisitions of Australian agricultural land, and A$53 million for acquisitions of Australian agribusinesses. The recently announced changes to FIRB thresholds are therefore consistent with ChAFTA and essentially bring the thresholds for investors from countries other than China (and other countries with a Free Trade Agreement with Australia) into alignment with these thresholds.

It is not yet clear how ‘agribusiness’ will be defined for the purposes of ChAFTA, and therefore what agricultural investments will be subject to the higher A$53 million threshold.

The likely practical impact of these changes should be considered in the context of FIRB’s review of proposed acquisitions of Australian agricultural assets to date. The only instance of FIRB having denied a significant investment in Australian agribusiness was the proposed acquisition of GrainCorp Limited (GrainCorp) by Archer Daniels Midland Company in 2014. This acquisition was ultimately blocked due to concerns regarding foreign ownership of what was considered critical national infrastructure, such as ports and grain storage facilities. The majority of potential investments in agricultural land would not raise concerns of this nature and therefore, although FIRB review will be required in relation to a broader range of transactions, there is no indication that such reviews are any more likely to result in an increase in the number of applications that are refused.

An application for FIRB approval requires a written submission which provides details of the target and the buyer as well as information about how the business will be funded and operated after it has been sold. In the context of an acquisition of agricultural land, such a submission is usually quite straightforward.

The Government does not currently impose any fees for making an application for FIRB approval.

Once an application has been submitted, FIRB must then decide whether the acquisition is in the national interest, and the Treasurer will usually provide a formal decision within 30 days. If the Government has concerns about whether a particular acquisition is in the national interest, then it may grant approval for the acquisition to proceed provided that certain conditions are met which are designed to address those concerns. For example, approval may be conditional upon the Board of Directors comprising a certain number of Australian residents.

The Government has not yet clarified the position in relation to acquisitions which are above the new threshold and which are already in the process of being sold. Accordingly, it is not clear whether a transaction that is signed before 1 March 2015 but will settle after 1 March 2015 will attract FIRB scrutiny or not. Nor has the Government given any indication as to how FIRB will address what will undoubtedly be a significant increase in the number of acquisitions subject to review.

Further changes to Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy are expected in the coming weeks, particularly in relation to investment in real estate.

Authors: Jeremy Loeliger & Katherine-Anne Waldron