FIRB update - launch of the new FIRB portal

The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) is in the process of establishing a new Foreign Investment Portal for the submission of investment applications and compliance reports.

The functionality of the FIRB Portal will be launched in stages, with the first stage launched on 24 February 2025.

What is the first stage?

The first part of the FIRB Portal which has been made available allows the in-portal submission of compliance reports.  

Compliance reports are reports submitted by foreign investors to comply with the conditions of their FIRB approval.  The conditions may require specific 'one off' reporting or recurring annual reporting.

What has changed?

Prior to the change, compliance reports were submitted to FIRB via a designated compliance reporting email address.  Any subsequent communication between FIRB and the foreign investors regarding those reports would take place by email exchange.

From 24 February 2025 onwards all compliance reports must be submitted via the FIRB Portal and any communication with FIRB about those compliance reports will occur within the FIRB Portal.

What do I need to do?

The FIRB Portal is a new portal and the changes involve a new lodgement process.  As such, we expect that there may be onboarding issues associated with the launch of the new system.

Accordingly, we recommend that foreign investors which have compliance obligations complete their initial setup on the FIRB Portal as soon as possible now that the portal is live.  Set up should be completed in any case well before the investor's next compliance reporting due date.

How do I set up an account?

FIRB has released a series of fact sheets to assist foreign investors to create and link an account in the FIRB Portal and access the compliance reports feature.  The fact sheets are available on FIRB's website.

What is the next stage of FIRB's digital transformation?

We are expecting that the FIRB application process will transition to the FIRB Portal in late April 2025.

Is the FIRB Portal the same as the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets?

No. This new FIRB Portal is entirely separate from the ATO's online service for foreign investors which facilitates registrations on the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets.

That is, compliance reporting to FIRB and the submission of FIRB applications will continue to be separated from notifications to the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets.

If you require any assistance, place contact our Corporate and Advisory team.

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