Foreign investors are generally required to notify the Treasurer before acquiring interests in securities or assets, or taking other actions in relation to corporations, unit trusts and businesses that have a connection to Australia.

Within this guidance note you will find further information on business investments and the topics below:

• When does a proposed business investment require a submission to the Treasurer?
• General Australian entities and businesses
• Agribusinesses
• Land entities
• Media businesses
• National security businesses
• Additional actions for foreign government investors
• Passive increases
• Offshore acquisitions and takeovers
• Other acquisitions – significant actions or reviewable national security actions
• Starting a business in Australia
• Entering into agreements
• Exemption certificates for business acquisitions

Some agribusinesses may also be land entities. By investing in an Australian agribusiness, your proposed investment may involve more than one notifiable or significant action depending on the facts (for example, acquiring an interest in agricultural land, an interest in an entity and an interest in an agribusiness). You may need to account for this when notifying the Treasurer of your proposal.

If you are a foreign government investor, you will need to notify the Treasurer if you:

• are starting an Australian business
• already carry on an Australian business but the business starts a new activity.

Factors which may help to determine whether your business activity is sufficiently different from what you already do include whether:

• the new business activity is in a different division of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification
• new licences or approvals are required
• new employees with different skillsets need to be engaged
• you are entering into business contracts or investment in a new product or service that is not incidental to the current business activity
• the new activity results in a materially different product, input or service than previously provided