The federal government is confident the nation’s foreign investment rules will prevent illegal buying of local real estate despite reports of new schemes to dodge Australian legislation.
According to The Australian Financial Review, local lawyer Dominique Grubisa has established the Australian Investments and Migration Service to help foreign buyers sidestep Australian rules amid scepticism that the laws are working as intended.
"This is a legal structure that enables you to legally buy any property in Australia so as not to breach the Foreign Investments and Takeovers Act," the website says, according to the paper. "Once the legal structure is set up for you, it will allow you to buy unlimited properties within the Australian market."
Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer disputed the claims on the site, saying such assertions were erroneous.
“I am not aware of the specifics of this particular proposal but, as a general rule, if any scheme suggests it can circumvent Australian law on property purchases by foreign nationals, I would advise people to exercise extreme caution,” Ms O'Dwyer told the AFR.