The Federal Government has announced the formation of a working group to consult on the development of a foreign ownership register for agricultural land, following growing concerns over large swathes of prime agricultural land being purchased by foreign nationals.

 

“A national foreign ownership register for agricultural land would provide the community with a more comprehensive picture of the specific size and locations of foreign agricultural landholdings over and above what is currently available,” Federal Minister for Agriculture Senator Joe Ludwig said.

 

A government working group will formally seek stakeholder views on the establishment of a register, including:

  • What ownership interests should be captured under a register;
  • How the register would interact with existing state and territory land title registers, including the Foreign Ownership of Land Register in Queensland;
  • Ways to monitor and enforce compliance; and
  • How information would be reported on and disclosed.

 

“The Government will pursue a register where it will clearly improve transparency of foreign ownership in agriculture without imposing unnecessary burdens on investors or duplicating work already undertaken by State and Territory governments,” Senator Ludwig said.

 

“While there has been minimal change in foreign ownership levels of agricultural land in Australia since 1984, the ABARES report highlights the need for better data sources to provide a more comprehensive picture of how the landscape of foreign investment in agriculture may be evolving.”