Towards the end of last year, it looked like the jig was up for illegal foreign buyers of Australian existing property.
On 1 December 2015, the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO) new surveillance/enforcement regime came into effect, which meant that a foreign national found having purchased an established dwelling without prior Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval, or having failed to dispose of a property once they have left Australia (in the case of temporary residents), faced increased penalties, including:
