Toitū Te Whenua - Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has confirmed two updates to the alternative monetary thresholds that apply to investments in significant business assets under the Overseas Investment Act 2005 (the Act).
Investments in significant business assets are subject to New Zealand’s foreign direct investment regime where they exceed the NZ$100 million threshold.
However, New Zealand has agreed higher monetary thresholds with some of its key trading partners under free trade agreements.
Specifically, the updates include:
a new NZ$200 million threshold for Indian investors, which has come into effect as part of the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement; and
an increased threshold of NZ$697 million for Australian investors, which takes effect on 1 January 2027.
However, even where investors do not benefit from higher thresholds, consent timeframes are now faster following recent legislative reforms.
What is the new threshold for Indian investors?
Following the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect on 20 October 2026, Indian investors now only require consent for investments in significant business assets above NZ$200 million in value. This brings India in line with several of New Zealand’s other major trading partners, including the European Union and United Kingdom. The increased threshold also continues to apply to many Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, who are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
However, there are limitations to the application of these high thresholds. For example, they will not apply where an investor is more than 25% government owned or where an investor uses a New Zealand subsidiary to undertake the investment.
What is the updated threshold for Australian investors?
Australian investors benefit from a separate alternative monetary threshold under the Closer Economic Relations agreement between Australia and New Zealand, which is reviewed every year.
LINZ has confirmed that, for the period 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027, the threshold for:
Australian non-government investors will increase from NZ$676 million to NZ$697 million; and
Australian government investors will increase from NZ$142 million to NZ$146 million.
Other consent requirements continue to apply
Where an investment falls under an alternative monetary threshold, it may still require consent under other provisions of the Act, for example where the investment involves ownership or control of sensitive land. Investors should therefore continue to consider whether any other consent requirements apply to a proposed transaction.
Decision timeframes significantly reduced
While some investors may avoid the need to seek consent under these new thresholds, investors who are making applications are now seeing faster timeframes. Under the reforms introduced earlier this year, the OIO applies a streamlined national interest assessment to certain types of overseas investment consents (essentially those not involving farmland or residential land). Consistent with directions issued by the Government at the time, the OIO has been meeting its targeted consent timeframe of only five working days in many cases.
This is a substantially accelerated timeframe compared to the prior regime that applied for these consent pathways. However, not all such cases benefit from the shorter timeframes. Investors with substantial overseas government ownership or those looking to acquire 'strategically important businesses' in New Zealand continue to face a two to three month wait for a decision.
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Disclaimer: This publication is necessarily brief and general in nature. You should seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with in this publication.
