Buying property in Australia on a temporary visa

The short answer

1. Temporary visa holders are foreign persons under Australia’s foreign investment rules, however long they have lived here (New Zealand citizens on a special category visa, subclass 444, are the exception).
2. From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, foreign persons, including temporary residents, are generally banned from buying established homes. The exceptions are mainly for large developments and businesses; one narrow exception, for some near-new homes whose first sale fell through, can apply to an individual buyer.
3. You can apply for foreign investment approval to buy a new home, an off-the-plan home or vacant land. Get approval before you sign an unconditional contract.
4. Buying as joint tenants with a spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen removes the need for approval, but most states still charge their foreign buyer surcharge on your share.
5. Budget for the state surcharge on top of ordinary stamp duty. In New South Wales, a yearly land tax surcharge can also apply to the home you live in.
6. Lenders set their own rules for temporary visa holders. Check with a lender or a licensed mortgage broker before you make an offer.

Do the rules apply to you?

Australia’s foreign investment rules apply to foreign persons. You are generally a foreign person if you are not an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen who holds or is eligible for a special category visa (subclass 444).

If your temporary visa lets you stay in Australia for a continuous period of more than 12 months (the ATO’s page says 12 months or more), you are a temporary resident, and temporary residents are foreign persons. A bridging visa holder who is living in Australia and has applied for a permanent visa is also treated as a temporary resident. If your visa allows only a shorter stay, you are still a foreign person.

That takes in the common temporary visas, including employer-sponsored (subclass 482), temporary graduate (485), student (500), skilled regional (491 and 494) and partner (309 and 820) visas.

How long you have lived here does not change it. The official guidance gives the example of a temporary visa holder who spent most of the previous year in Australia and is still a foreign person, because their stay is limited by their visa.

The ban on buying established homes

From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, the Australian Government’s policy is that foreign persons are generally banned from buying established dwellings. The ban was announced in February 2025 to run until 31 March 2027, and the 2026–27 Budget extended it to 30 June 2029. Some older pages still give the 2027 date.

The ban includes temporary residents buying an established home to live in. Until 31 March 2025, a temporary resident could apply to buy an established home to live in as their main residence. Those applications have closed.

The exceptions in the official guidance are narrow, and most are about adding housing or running a business: redevelopments that add at least 20 dwellings, housing on a commercial scale such as build-to-rent, housing that some companies must provide for workers they employ from Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste, and some near-new dwellings, for example where the first sale of a new home did not complete. The guidance also allows some established homes that are a small, incidental part of a larger commercial purchase.

A knock-down rebuild does not get around the ban. A house built to replace a demolished established house does not count as a new dwelling, and land that had a house on it is generally not treated as vacant land.

Buying without the approval you need can mean being required to sell the property and pay a penalty.

• Residential land guidance (foreign investment website) (opens in a new tab)

What you can still buy

Temporary residents can still apply for approval to buy a new dwelling, an off-the-plan home or vacant land. The ban does not apply to new dwellings.

The ATO says you need approval, or an exemption certificate, before you enter any contract to buy residential property.

“New” has a narrow meaning. A new dwelling is one that has never been sold as a dwelling and has never been lived in. A recently built home that someone has already bought or lived in is an established home, and the ban applies to it. If in doubt, ask the ATO before you sign.

New homes: approval is not usually subject to conditions about how you use the home. You can live in it or rent it out, and there is no limit on how many new dwellings you can buy. You must lodge an annual vacancy fee return.

Off-the-plan homes: if the developer holds a new or near-new dwelling exemption certificate for the project, you generally will not need your own approval. It generally covers up to $3 million of homes per buyer in one development, so check the certificate covers your purchase before you sign.

Vacant land: the usual conditions are that at least one home is built, all building is finished within four years of approval, and you do not sell the land before building is finished.

1. Apply online through the ATO’s Online services for foreign investors before you sign an unconditional contract.
2. Choose approval for one specific property, or an exemption certificate if you are still looking. An exemption certificate covers buying one property, lasts 12 months, and sets a price limit and a state or territory.
3. Pay the application fee when you apply. Fees depend on the price and are indexed each year on 1 July. The current amounts are on the ATO website.
4. Allow time. The ATO says it can take up to 30 days to consider an application after it receives full payment of the fee.
5. After you buy, register your ownership on the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets, and meet any conditions in your approval.

• Apply to buy residential property as a foreign person (ATO) (opens in a new tab)
• Residential fees for a foreign person (ATO) (opens in a new tab)

Buying with an Australian partner

The official guidance exempts an individual from needing foreign investment approval when they buy land as joint tenants with their spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen eligible for a special category visa. The exemption does not apply if you buy as tenants in common. A de facto partner counts if the relationship meets the legal definition, so keep evidence of the relationship.

Official guidance does not say whether this exemption lets a temporary visa holder buy an established home during the ban. Get legal advice before you sign for one.

The exemption covers foreign investment approval only. Each state has its own surcharge rules, and most still charge the surcharge when one of the buyers holds a temporary visa:

• Victoria: the surcharge may not apply if your spouse or partner is not a foreign purchaser and you live in the home as your main residence for 12 months, starting within 12 months of settlement.
• Tasmania: an existing home can be exempt if you both live in it as your main residence within 6 months, you hold it in equal shares, and only one of you is a foreign person. A refund can apply to vacant land if you build and live there within 2 years on the same terms.
• Queensland: the surcharge applies only to the foreign buyer’s share, and it applies whether or not you live in the home.
• South Australia: the surcharge is payable only on the value of the foreign buyer’s interest, and joint tenants are treated as owning equal shares.
• New South Wales: holders of most temporary visas pay the surcharge. The exceptions are partner (provisional) visa holders (subclass 309 or 820) and retirement visa holders (subclass 405 or 410) who meet residence conditions. Revenue NSW charges it in proportion to the share of the property bought by foreign persons.
• Western Australia: temporary visas, including partner and bridging visas, are not permanent visas, so their holders count as foreign persons, and the surcharge is charged on the foreign buyer’s interest in the property.

Extra costs for foreign buyers

Six states charge foreign buyers a surcharge on a residential purchase, on top of ordinary stamp duty (also called transfer duty). Each state sets its rate in law, and its revenue office publishes it:

In Victoria and Queensland, a home or first home concession reduces ordinary stamp duty but not the surcharge; Victoria’s revenue office says its home concession does not apply to the calculation of additional duty. In Queensland, contracts from 1 August 2026 can get the home concession only if the buyer is an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or a specified foreign retiree. The rules differ in Tasmania, and where a purchase is fully exempt from duty, so check with your state’s revenue office.

Some states also charge foreign owners a yearly land tax surcharge. New South Wales charges surcharge land tax on land owned by foreign persons, with no tax-free threshold, even when the land is exempt from ordinary land tax. Its exemption for a home you intend to live in is open only to permanent residents and partner (309 or 820) or retirement visa holders who meet a 200-day residence requirement, so a 482, 485 or 500 visa holder who owns their home in New South Wales may have to pay it every year.

Victoria and Queensland charge absentee surcharges on land tax, aimed at owners who do not usually live in Australia. If you live and work here on a temporary visa you are generally not an absentee, but the revenue office decides each case. Tasmania’s foreign investor land tax surcharge does not apply to land classified as your principal residence, and the ACT’s foreign ownership surcharge does not apply if you live in the home as your principal place of residence.

Foreign owners also pay an annual vacancy fee if a home is not lived in, or genuinely available to rent, for at least 183 days a year. Living in it yourself counts, but you must still lodge a vacancy fee return within 30 days after each vacancy year ends. A late return can mean paying the fee even if you lived there. Short-term lets of less than 30 days do not count as occupied.

Foreign investment application fees are set by the Government and change every year, so this guide does not quote them. The ATO publishes the current amounts.

• Work out stamp duty for your state
• Vacancy fee return for foreign owners (ATO) (opens in a new tab)

First home grants and government schemes

The federal 5% Deposit Scheme is only for Australian citizens and permanent residents. If you apply as a couple, both of you must qualify, so it is not open to you if either of you holds a temporary visa.

Help to Buy, the federal shared equity scheme, is only for Australian citizens.

In Victoria and Queensland, a First Home Owner Grant for a new home needs only one applicant to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident; check the rules in other states. Queensland’s revenue office gives the example of an applicant who is not a permanent resident but whose spouse is an Australian citizen. Revenue NSW’s guidance is less clear, so check with them before you count on the grant in New South Wales.

A First Home Owner Grant does not remove the foreign buyer surcharge. Whether a duty concession or exemption does depends on the state, so check with the revenue office before you count on it.

Home loans on a temporary visa

We found no government rule that sets how lenders treat temporary visa holders. Each lender sets its own criteria, and they differ. As Moneysmart puts it about its own calculator, using it does not guarantee you will be eligible for a loan, because you need to satisfy your lender’s criteria.

Moneysmart says mortgage brokers must act in your best interests when suggesting a loan for you. A broker can check which of the lenders they work with accept your visa, so ask how many lenders that is. Get pre-approval before you make an offer, so you know what you can spend. If you contact a broker through ListHQ, ListHQ may receive a fee from the broker.

• How to find and check a mortgage broker
• Work out your repayments

If you sell, or leave Australia

If you bought an established home under an approval given before 1 April 2025, your approval usually has conditions. For example, you must sell within 6 months once the home is no longer your main residence or you are no longer a temporary resident. Check your approval letter, and get advice if you become a permanent resident.

Approvals for new homes and vacant land generally have no condition to sell when you leave, apart from not selling vacant land before building is finished. Your approval letter sets out any conditions that apply to you.

When property is sold in Australia, the buyer must generally withhold up to 15% of the price and pay it to the ATO, unless the seller gives them a clearance certificate or another exception applies. Australian tax residents apply to the ATO for a certificate.

Your tax residency is separate from your visa. If you are a foreign resident for tax purposes when you sign the contract to sell, you generally cannot claim the main residence exemption from capital gains tax, even for the years you lived there, unless a narrow life events test applies. The full 50% capital gains tax discount is generally not available to foreign residents, or to people who are temporary residents under tax law (a separate test from the foreign investment one), for assets bought after 8 May 2012. Get tax advice before you sell, particularly if you plan to leave Australia.

Before you sign: a checklist

1. Confirm your status: citizen, permanent resident, eligible New Zealand citizen, or temporary visa holder.
2. Confirm the property is a new home (never sold as a home and never lived in), an off-the-plan home or vacant land. It must not be an established home or a knock-down rebuild.
3. For an off-the-plan home, ask whether the developer holds an exemption certificate that covers your purchase.
4. Apply for foreign investment approval, or an exemption certificate, before you sign an unconditional contract.
5. Work out ordinary stamp duty, your state’s foreign buyer surcharge, and any land tax surcharge.
6. Get pre-approval from a lender that accepts your visa.
7. If you are buying with an Australian partner, get legal advice on joint tenancy and your state’s surcharge rules before you sign.
8. Put the annual vacancy fee return in your calendar.

Common questions

Can I buy a house in Australia on a 482 visa?

Not an established house from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029. A 482 visa is a temporary visa, so you are a foreign person under the foreign investment rules. You can apply for approval to buy a new home, an off-the-plan home or vacant land, and you will generally pay your state’s foreign buyer surcharge where one applies.

Can international students buy property in Australia?

Student visa holders are foreign persons, so the same rules apply: no established homes during the ban, and foreign investment approval before buying a new home, an off-the-plan home or vacant land. Lenders’ criteria for student visa holders vary, so check before you start looking.

When does the ban on foreign buyers end?

The current official guidance says 30 June 2029. The ban started on 1 April 2025 and was first due to end on 31 March 2027; the 2026–27 Budget extended it.

Does living in Australia for years make me exempt?

No. While you hold a temporary visa you remain a foreign person for these rules, however long you have lived here. Once you become a permanent resident, you no longer need foreign investment approval to buy residential property, including an established home.

Can I buy with my Australian partner?

If you buy as joint tenants with a spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, you do not need foreign investment approval for that purchase. Buying as tenants in common does not qualify. Most states still charge their foreign buyer surcharge on your share, and official guidance does not say whether the exemption covers an established home during the ban, so get legal advice before you sign.

Do I need approval for an off-the-plan apartment?

Usually yes, unless the developer holds a new or near-new dwelling exemption certificate that covers your purchase, in which case you generally will not need your own approval. Ask the developer for evidence before you sign.

What changes when I get permanent residency?

You no longer need foreign investment approval to buy residential property, including an established home. If you already own a home as a foreign person, your vacancy fee obligations stop in the vacancy year you stop being a foreign person. You will need to update your details with the ATO, and you may need to give a notice to the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets. If you hold an older approval with conditions, check with the ATO how they apply.

Sources

1. Foreign Investment Review Board: Guidance Note 6, Residential Land (version 5, 1 July 2026) (opens in a new tab)
2. Foreign Investment Review Board: Guidance Note 2, Key Concepts (version 5, 12 December 2025) (opens in a new tab)
3. Foreign Investment Review Board: Residential land (opens in a new tab)
4. Foreign Investment Review Board: Changes to foreign purchases of established dwellings (17 February 2025) (opens in a new tab)
5. ATO: Extending the ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings (opens in a new tab)
6. ATO: Apply to buy residential property as a foreign person (opens in a new tab)
7. ATO: Are you a foreign person buying property in Australia? (opens in a new tab)
8. ATO: Residential fees for a foreign person (opens in a new tab)
9. ATO: Vacancy fee return for foreign owners (opens in a new tab)
10. ATO: Foreign resident capital gains withholding overview (opens in a new tab)
11. ATO: Australian residents and clearance certificates (opens in a new tab)
12. ATO: Main residence exemption for foreign residents (opens in a new tab)
13. ATO: Your residency status and CGT (opens in a new tab)
14. Revenue NSW: Surcharge purchaser duty for individuals (opens in a new tab)
15. Revenue NSW: What is surcharge land tax? (opens in a new tab)
16. Revenue NSW: Surcharge land tax, intended principal place of residence exemption (opens in a new tab)
17. Revenue NSW: First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant (opens in a new tab)
18. State Revenue Office Victoria: Exemptions, concessions and rules for foreign purchaser additional duty (opens in a new tab)
19. State Revenue Office Victoria: Absentee owner surcharge definitions (opens in a new tab)
20. State Revenue Office Victoria: Understanding the First Home Owner Grant (opens in a new tab)
21. Queensland Revenue Office: Assessing and calculating additional foreign acquirer duty (opens in a new tab)
22. Queensland Revenue Office: Land tax rates for absentees (opens in a new tab)
23. Queensland Revenue Office: Eligibility for the first home owner grant (opens in a new tab)
24. Government of Western Australia: Foreign transfer duty (opens in a new tab)
25. RevenueWA: Foreign transfer duty fact sheet (opens in a new tab)
26. RevenueSA: Foreign ownership surcharge (opens in a new tab)
27. State Revenue Office Tasmania: Foreign investor duty surcharge exemptions (opens in a new tab)
28. State Revenue Office Tasmania: Foreign investor land tax surcharge, land subject to surcharge (opens in a new tab)
29. ACT Revenue Office: Foreign ownership surcharge for land tax (opens in a new tab)
30. firsthomebuyers.gov.au: 5% Deposit Scheme information guide (opens in a new tab)
31. firsthomebuyers.gov.au: Help to Buy (opens in a new tab)
32. Moneysmart: Mortgage calculator (opens in a new tab)
33. Moneysmart: Using a mortgage broker (opens in a new tab)

About ListHQ and this guide

ListHQ is an Australian property platform. It is not a lawyer, tax adviser, migration agent, lender or credit adviser, and this guide is general information only: it is not legal, tax or financial advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Foreign investment and state tax rules change, and your approval letter can carry conditions of its own. Check the official sources and get professional advice before you buy. If you contact a mortgage broker through ListHQ, ListHQ may receive a fee from the broker.