Since 30 November 2017, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Act 2017 received royal assent. The legislation obliges foreigners to pay an “annual charge on foreign owners of under-utilised residential property” who own residential property that is not occupied or genuinely available on the rental market for at least six months per 12-month period. This charge is levied in addition to other levies imposed at State level, as the case may be, associated with the ownership or acquisition of land or residential property potentially. The measure is effective for applications for residential property as of 9 May 2017. The amount of this fee is set in the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015.
Additionally, foreign purchasers of residential property are charged additional stamp duty in several territorial subdivisions of Australia. The additional surcharge is 7% in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland; and 8% in Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. In addition, Tasmania applies a 1.5% surcharge to foreign purchasers of primary production property (Source: PWC). Only Nothern Territory has refrained from imposing an additional stamp duty on foreign acquisition of residential property. For the purpose of the OECD FDI RRI, such state-level policies are not considered as they do not constitute a national policy. If additional stamp duties were applied nationwide, it would be in principle be reflected in the score even if governed by different state-level legislation.
"Schedule 3—Vacancy fees for foreign acquisitions of residential land […]
Part 6A—Vacancy fees for foreign acquisitions of residential land
Division 1—Simplified outline of this Part
115A  Simplified outline of this Part
A vacancy fee is payable by a foreign person for any dwelling on residential land, for any year (called a vacancy year), if the dwelling is residentially occupied for less than 183 days in the year.
A dwelling is residentially occupied on a day in any of the following circumstances (or any combination of these circumstances over the vacancy year):
(a)     the foreign person, or a relative of the foreign person, genuinely occupies the dwelling as a residence (whether or not with other persons);
(b)     the dwelling is genuinely occupied as a residence under a lease or licence with a term of 30 or more days;
(c)     the dwelling is genuinely available for occupation as a residence under a lease or licence with a term of 30 or more days.
The amount of the vacancy fee is found in the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Act 2015. However, a vacancy fee may be waived or remitted.
[...]
Division 2—Vacancy fees: liability
115B  Scope of this Division—persons and land
(1)  This Division applies in relation to a person if:
(a)  the person is a foreign person; and
(b)  the person acquires an interest in residential land on which one or more dwellings are, or are to be, situated; and
[...]
115C  Liability for vacancy fees
Main rule
(1)  The person must pay a fee (a vacancy fee) in relation to each dwelling on the land that is residentially occupied for fewer than 183 days during each vacancy year for the dwelling.[...]" (Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Act 2017 No. 126, 2017)
Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Act 2017 No. 126, 2017
[<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017A00126">Act</a>],[<a href=" https://www.pwc.com.au/tax/assets/stamp-duty/australian-stamp-duty-and-land-tax-maps.pdf">Other</a>]