Buying off the plan in Australia from overseas

FIRB and off-the-plan purchases

The Foreign Investment website says Australian citizens living abroad and holders of permanent residency visas do not need to apply. A foreign person generally needs approval before acquiring residential land, and the ATO says approval or an exemption certificate must be in place before you enter any contract to buy residential property. The sister FIRB guide explains who counts as a foreign person.

Treasury's Guidance Note 6 (version 5, 1 July 2026) says the policy channels foreign investment into new dwellings. It says that from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 foreign persons are generally banned from buying established dwellings, with limited exceptions. For a new dwelling:

• A foreign person can apply for approval for a specified property, or for an exemption certificate when the property has not been chosen yet.
• A developer can apply for a New (or Near-New) Dwelling Exemption Certificate. Where one is held, a foreign buyer in that development will not generally need their own approval, and the note says to check that the certificate covers your intended purchase.
• The developer's development must consist of 50 or more dwellings (other than townhouses), have development approval, and meet other criteria. Developers are generally approved to sell no more than 50% of the dwellings to foreign persons and no more than $3 million worth to any single foreign person, and must give each foreign purchaser a copy of the certificate.
• There is no limit on the number of new dwellings a foreign person can acquire, and approval for a new dwelling is not usually subject to conditions about use. A foreign owner must lodge an annual vacancy fee return, and the fee applies if the property is not residentially occupied or available on the rental market for at least 183 days in a 12-month period.

Deposit and settlement

NSW says the buyer generally pays a deposit to secure the property and the balance at settlement, and that the date for completing is not until the building is finished and the plan is registered. Prices are locked in on the date contracts are exchanged. The sending money guide covers exchange-rate timing across that gap.

What NSW says protects off-the-plan buyers

These points are from the NSW Government page, and apply to NSW only. Other states have their own rules.

• Cooling-off: 10 business days, with 0.25% of the purchase price forfeited on withdrawal.
• Deposit: the stakeholder must hold it in a trust or controlled money account, and it cannot be released to the vendor before settlement. A deposit bond or similar bank-issued alternative can replace cash only if the developer agrees before the contract is signed.
• Disclosure: the vendor attaches a disclosure statement with key information such as sunset dates, plus draft documents such as the plan and schedule of finishes.
• Sunset clauses: a developer needs the buyer's consent or must apply to the NSW Supreme Court to end a contract using one.
• Changes: the vendor must tell the buyer of changes to a "material particular". Where the buyer is materially prejudiced, they can withdraw and get the deposit back, or settle and claim compensation capped at 2% of the price. NSW says the buyer has only 14 days from being notified to act.
• Registered plan: buyers must be given it at least 21 days before settlement.

NSW suggests asking your conveyancer whether you can still arrange finance if the building finishes earlier or later than expected, and whether the developer can extend sunset or completion dates. The signing guide covers how contracts are signed from overseas, and the power of attorney guide covers signing through an attorney.

Finance at settlement

NSW says a pre-approval lasts 3 to 6 months, and that full approval needs a more detailed application with a valuation. A pre-approval obtained when you sign would have expired by a settlement more than 6 months later, so a fresh assessment may be needed. The timing guide shows how the clocks run.

APRA's guide says that for off-the-plan sales developer prices might not represent a sustainable resale value, so a prudent lender would reduce the off-the-plan price in setting the LVR or seek an independent valuation. It also says developer discounts are not treated as part of the borrower's deposit.

Worked example. The contract price is $900,000 and the lender's valuation at settlement is $850,000. Assume, for illustration, that the lender applies its LVR to the valuation.

The gap is 70% x ($900,000 - $850,000) = $35,000 and 80% x $50,000 = $40,000. Lenders differ in whether they use the price or the valuation, so the figures are illustrations only. Lender limits for non-residents are covered in the LMI guide.

Surcharge status and timing

When you buy off the plan, the state tests your foreign status at different times. Victoria says nominating a foreign purchaser to take a transfer under an off-the-plan contract triggers foreign purchaser additional duty. NSW charges surcharge purchaser duty on the dutiable value at the liability date, generally the contract date, but says a refund may be available if you were no longer foreign at the date the property was transferred to you. Western Australia's form FDA42 covers a change in foreign status between the agreement and the transfer. The stamp duty guide sets this out by state.

Frequently asked questions

Expat Finance is an independent guide. It is not a lender, mortgage broker or credit provider, it does not hold an Australian credit licence, and it does not give credit, legal, tax or migration advice. It is not affiliated with any bank, the ATO or the Foreign Investment Review Board. General information only, not legal, tax, migration or financial advice.