Foreign investment approvals will be made quicker but greater scrutiny will be placed on potential risks as Australia tries to balance economic and security interests, treasury Jim Chalmers will say on Wednesday.
Chalmers said even after the changes, Australia’s foreign investment regime would remain “non-discriminatory” with the same rules applying regardless of the source country. He said Australia welcomed investment that met the national interest and proposals must be screened “robustly”. Competition for funds and technology is likely to intensify as government such as the US and Europe stump up many billions of dollars to foster decarbonisation industries such as batteries and renewable energy often to catch up with China’s advances.
“We can’t replicate or retrofit the approaches underway elsewhere,” Chalmers will say. “But it would be preposterously self-defeating to leave our policies unchanged in the face of all this industry policy taking shape and taking hold around us.” The government would also release updated guidance about tax arrangements to ensure foreign companies pay their way.