This office will target construction alongside the financial services, resources and energy sectors.
Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas welcomed the move to more efficiently channel other people's money into Australia to build our cities.
"Australia competes for global capital and institutional investors seeking stable, risk-adjusted returns," Mr Zorbas said.
"Fast-tracking overseas investment in non-sensitive property projects is a no-brainer.
"The smart move is to build our cities with other people's money.
"Australian cities have been built using other people's money for 80 years - leaving positive and permanent city assets including offices, apartments, master planned communities, data centres and industrial hubs.
"If a future with more investment is our goal, we need to remove federal red tape and shrink state taxes that repel harmless institutional money from overseas," he said.
The Property Council, as part of its pre-election document, A pro-cities, pro-investment agenda, has called for the following changes to FIRB:
- Review and streamline requirements for FIRB exemption certificates, including application costs, to lessen the regulatory burden for foreign investors delivering housing
- Exclude passive or non-controversial commercial real estate investment opportunities from national security screening processes and legislate the exemption of FIRB application fees on purpose-built student accommodation as a priority.
