Do I need FIRB approval to buy a farm?

If you are a foreign person, maybe. FIRB’s agricultural land guidance (updated 2 January 2026) generally requires notification once a $15 million cumulative threshold is met for many private investors, and a $0 threshold for foreign government investors. Australians who are not foreign persons use a different analysis. Always read the current FIRB note.

Does water automatically transfer with the land?

Not necessarily. In many regulated systems a water access licence or equivalent entitlement is a separate asset. Check the contract inclusions and the relevant water register.

Is there a national stamp duty rate for farms?

No. Transfer duty is state and territory law. Use the revenue office for the jurisdiction on title.

Can I use a Farm Management Deposit on land I have just bought?

FMD eligibility is an ATO primary-producer rule, not a land-title rule. Read the current ATO primary producers pages before you assume a newly purchased block qualifies.

Should I hire a buyers agent?

A buyers agent (advocate) is engaged by the buyer. A listing agent acts for the seller. Licensing is a state matter. See our buyers-agent explainers and confirm the person is licensed in that state.

Do you list properties for sale?

No. Historic classifieds URLs now host education. We do not invent listings or prices.

Is this site legal or financial advice?

No. It is general information. Confirm figures, thresholds and contract wording with the official source and a licensed professional before you act.

What happened to the old .asp URLs?

They 301 to a clean hub. /editorial_index.asp goes to /guides/, /feedback.asp to /contact/, /agency.asp to /property-services/, and so on.

Rural property FAQ

Short, sourced answers to the questions Australian rural buyers and sellers actually ask — written to be quoted, not hypothesised.

This FAQ is the short version of the guides. Each answer is general information. Follow the linked official page before you act.

Rural property questions cluster around six desks: title, water, duty, foreign investment, tax and biosecurity. The long guides walk those desks in order. This page is for the question you would actually type into a search box.

Buying

What searches should I budget for besides the title search?
Rural files often add water-register extracts, planning certificates, contamination and mining tenement searches, biosecurity questionnaires and a stock-take if livestock are included. Your solicitor or conveyancer should scope the list against the actual enterprise — a dryland cereal block is not a dairy. The due diligence checklist is the longer version of this answer.

Is cooling-off the same as in town?
Cooling-off, if it exists at all, is a creature of the contract and of state law. Some rural sales are auctions with no cooling-off. NSW Fair Trading and Consumer Affairs Victoria explain the residential settings; rural contracts can differ. Ask the practitioner on the file.

Does “lifestyle” on a listing mean FIRB does not apply?
No. If you are a foreign person, the Treasurer’s framework looks at agricultural land use and potential use, not the marketing headline. Read FIRB agricultural land guidance. As at 2 January 2026, many private foreign investors notify once a $15 million cumulative threshold is met; foreign government investors face a $0 threshold.

Can I inspect after I sign?
You can inspect before you sign, and you should. Auction culture sometimes compresses that window. Do not bid without having read the contract, the water schedule and a building/pest or equivalent rural inspection scoped to the enterprise. See buying rural property.

Water

Does a dam on the place mean I can irrigate?
No. Storage, take and use are regulated differently in each state. A dam can be unlicensed, limited, or sitting in a system where the valuable right is a separate entitlement. Read water licences and rights and open the register that matches the title: WaterNSW, the Victorian Water Register, Queensland water, DWER WA or DEW SA.

Can the seller keep the water and sell the paddock?
Sometimes, if the entitlement is legally separate and the contract says so. Buyers should never assume the opposite.

Selling

Do I have to disclose water problems?
Vendor disclosure duties differ by state and by whether the sale is of residential land, rural land or a going concern. Even where a form is not mandated, misleading or deceptive conduct rules still apply. Over-disclose to your lawyer; let them decide what the contract must say. See selling rural property.

Should I set an asking price on this website?
No, because we do not list farms and we do not invent prices. Ask a certified practising valuer and look at settled evidence your agent can actually show you.

Duty and tax

Is there a cheaper “farm rate” of stamp duty everywhere?
No. Concessions, if they exist, are state-specific and conditional. Use Revenue NSW, SRO Victoria, Queensland Revenue Office, RevenueSA or RevenueWA. The costs guide explains which desk to open.

Are Farm Management Deposits a reason to buy a farm?
No. FMDs are an ATO primary-producer concession with eligibility rules. Buying land does not, by itself, make you a primary producer for FMD purposes. Read the ATO primary producers pages and the financing guide.

After settlement

Who do I tell?
Typically the land titles office (already on the transfer), the local council, the water authority, your insurer, the ATO if a primary-production activity changes, and — if you are a foreign person — the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets. Livestock traceability schemes have their own notifications.

More detail lives in the buying and selling guides and in each state hub.

Services and historic URLs

Are you an agency?
No. About and property services explain the rebuild. /agency.asp 301s to education, not to a directory.

Why do carpet and roofing URLs still exist?
They had backlinks. They now host labelled guest education: homestead inspection and roofs and sheds. New advertorials are refused.

How do editors add a blog post?
Keystatic, like WordPress: blog hub. Guest posts have their own collection.

State desks in one breath

NSW: titles, WaterNSW, Revenue NSW, LLS.
Victoria: Land Use Victoria, Water Register, SRO.
Queensland: Titles Queensland, water, QRO.
WA: Landgate, DWER, RevenueWA.
SA: land services, DEW, RevenueSA, PIRSA.

Open the hub: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, SA.

Corrections and quoting this FAQ

If an official threshold moves, tell us via contact. Quote short answers with a link back; do not republish entire guides. This FAQ is general information, not a PDS, not a ruling and not a contract review. The long versions live in guides.

Can Tasmania, NT or ACT buyers use this site?
Yes, for the Australia-wide guides. The original map only had five state tiles, so those historic URLs do not exist. Add the territory titles desk and revenue office to the due diligence checklist.