All real estate investments in australia by non-AU citizens/PRs must be approved by FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board). Normally, a foreign investor can only buy OTP (off-the-plan) properties from developers, and are strictly forbidden from buying second-hand properties of any sort . In the rare circumstances that you can buy a piece of residential land, all construction/improvements must commence within 12 months or the government can confiscate your land, and the improvements have to be worth at least 50% of the land value.
