Buying Australian Property From Overseas
If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident and you want to buy residential property in Australia, the rules changed in a way that most online guidance has not caught up with. It is worth understanding before you look at a single listing, because it narrows the field considerably.
The rule that shapes everything else
Foreign persons cannot buy an established dwelling in Australia. That restriction started on 1 April 2025 and the 2026-27 Federal Budget extended it to 30 June 2029. New dwellings, near-new dwellings and vacant residential land remain open with FIRB approval.
So the established housing market, which is where most listings and most agents sit, is closed to you until at least the middle of 2029. What remains open is new build.
That is not a small technicality. It means the property you can legally buy is almost entirely off-the-plan apartments and townhouses, house and land packages, and brand-new completed stock that has not been lived in. It is also, as it happens, the only thing Nobilis has ever worked in.
Who this applies to
A foreign person is broadly anyone who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident. That includes temporary residents, which surprises people. If you are in Australia on a student visa, a skilled visa or a partner visa that has not yet resulted in permanent residency, you are a foreign person for foreign investment purposes and the same restrictions apply to you.
New Zealand citizens are the exception and are treated separately. There is a page for that, because the position is genuinely different and it changed in late 2025.
The real cost, itemised
Almost every enquiry we get from overseas has underestimated this. Here is the stack for a foreign purchaser buying in Victoria.
| Item | What it is |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | The contract price for the property. |
| Ordinary stamp duty | Victorian land transfer duty, calculated on the dutiable value. |
| Foreign purchaser additional duty | An extra 8 per cent on the dutiable value for foreign purchasers in Victoria. |
| FIRB application fee | Paid to the Australian Government with your approval application. Scales with property value. |
| Absentee owner surcharge | 4 per cent added to Victorian land tax where the owner is an absentee owner. Annual, not one-off. |
| Conveyancing and legal | Your own conveyancer or solicitor. Always independent of us. |
There is a partial offset worth knowing about. Victoria offers a stamp duty concession on eligible off-the-plan purchases, calculated on the land value component rather than the whole contract price. For apartments and townhouses it can be substantial. It does not remove the 8 per cent, but it reduces the base the ordinary duty is calculated on. Your conveyancer confirms whether you qualify.
Where Melbourne sits right now
Melbourne currently has the lowest median house price of Australia's four largest capitals, at $812,621 as at 31 May 2026, against Brisbane at $1,126,149 and Perth at $1,050,354. Sydney sits at $1,282,020. That is a reversal of the long-standing order and it is worth understanding properly rather than treating as a signal. We wrote about why, including the parts that argue the other way.
How we work with buyers overseas
- A conversation first, before any property is discussed, to work out whether what you want is available to you at all under the current rules.
- We tell you which contract structure a project uses, because one-part and two-part contracts change your duty position and your finance staging.
- We shortlist against your circumstances rather than our stocklist, and we say so when nothing fits.
- We coordinate the professionals around you. FIRB specialists, mortgage brokers, conveyancers and migration agents each advise you independently in their own discipline. We do not do their work and we do not take a fee from you for arranging it.
- We stay through to settlement, including the parts that are harder from a different timezone.
Choose your position
- New Zealand citizens — exempt from FIRB, but the Victorian duty question is separate and changed in November 2025
- Singaporeans — foreign person, new build only, and the education purchase is the common one
- Malaysians — foreign person, new build only, with the longest education corridor of any of these markets
- Tiếng Việt — advisory delivered in Vietnamese
- 简体中文 and 繁體中文 — and on WeChat at NobilisProperty
- العربية — Arabic
Questions we are asked most
Can a foreign person still buy property in Australia in 2026?
Yes, but only certain property. Foreign persons are banned from buying established dwellings until 30 June 2029. New dwellings, near-new dwellings and vacant residential land remain available with Foreign Investment Review Board approval. In practice that means off-the-plan and newly completed stock, which is the category Nobilis works in.
Who counts as a foreign person?
Broadly, anyone who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Temporary residents on student, skilled or partner visas are foreign persons for this purpose, as are foreign-owned companies and trusts. New Zealand citizens granted a Special Category Visa are treated differently and are exempt from FIRB approval for residential property.
Do I need FIRB approval before I sign a contract?
In most cases yes. Approval is normally obtained before signing, or the contract is made conditional on approval being granted. Fees apply and vary with the value of the property. Getting this sequence wrong is one of the more expensive mistakes in the process, which is why we raise it at the first conversation rather than the last.
What does it actually cost on top of the purchase price in Victoria?
For a foreign purchaser in Victoria, an additional 8 per cent foreign purchaser additional duty on the dutiable value, on top of ordinary stamp duty. If you own the land and are an absentee owner, a 4 per cent absentee owner surcharge applies to land tax. There is also a FIRB application fee. Some off-the-plan purchases attract a Victorian duty concession that reduces the base. Your conveyancer calculates the actual figure.
Can Nobilis help me if I do not live in Australia?
Yes, and a large part of our work is with people buying from a distance or planning a move. What we cannot do is act outside Australia. We are an Australian business advising on Australian property, and every engagement happens here under Australian law.