Renting out property in Australia while living in Malaysia

More on ownership

Barred outright

Established dwellings, for every foreign person including temporary residents, while the ban runs. Outside the ban, an established home could only be bought to redevelop or as a temporary resident's own home.

Inheritance and gifts

Inheritance under a will does not need approval. Australia has no inheritance tax; capital gains tax follows the asset.

Owning through a company

A foreign-controlled company is a foreign person and needs the same approval. Outside this guide.

Letting it out from abroad

May a non-resident owner let it

Yes. A foreign owner must let or occupy the home for more than 183 days a year or pay an annual vacancy fee, and must lodge a vacancy fee return every year regardless.

Licences, permits, landlord registration

None for a long-term let. Short-term letting is regulated by state and council, with registration and night caps in some cities.

Local agent or representative

No, but a licensed property manager is the norm; bonds, condition reports and tribunal paperwork run on state systems the manager already uses.

The rent agreement

Written agreement required

Yes. Every state requires the written agreement, and most require their standard form, with a copy and a condition report given to the tenant.

Mandatory standard form

Mandatory in each state: New South Wales's standard residential tenancy agreement, Victoria's residential rental agreement, and their equivalents elsewhere. Extra terms are allowed only where the form permits.

Language

English.

Registry

None for the lease. The bond, not the agreement, is what gets lodged.

When registration is required

Never for a residential tenancy. Only very long leases are registered on title.

Who registers

Not applicable

Registration cost

Not applicable

If it is not registered

Not applicable

Stamp duty

None on residential leases in any state.

Notarisation and witnesses

None required.

E-signature

Valid under the Commonwealth Electronic Transactions Act 1999 and each state's equivalent, provided the method identifies the signer and shows intent. Any platform works; myID is a government login, not a signing identity.

The usual term

Six or twelve months fixed, then periodic. Agents renew yearly.

Rules the agreement must respect

Deposit

A bond of up to four weeks' rent in most states, which the landlord or agent must lodge with the state bond authority, Rental Bonds Online in New South Wales or the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority in Victoria, within days of receipt. The landlord never holds it.

Rent increases

Once every twelve months in most states, with written notice of sixty days or more on the prescribed form; a tenant can challenge an excessive increase at the tribunal.

Notice periods

State law, and tightening. New South Wales ended no-grounds evictions in May 2025; landlords now need a stated ground and the notice period it carries. Tenants give the period their agreement and state set, commonly fourteen to twenty-eight days.

Disputes

The state civil and administrative tribunal, which handles bonds, repairs, increases and possession. Self-help eviction is unlawful.

Mandatory disclosures

State forms carry the mandatory disclosures: the condition report, embedded networks, proposed sale, and in some states any known planned works. Smoke alarms, pool safety and electrical safety obligations sit alongside.

Tax when the landlord lives abroad

Is the rent taxed here

Yes. Rent from Australian property is Australian-source income, taxed at foreign-resident rates with no tax-free threshold, after deductible expenses and depreciation.

Withholding at source

No

Withholding rate

Not applicable

Who withholds

Not applicable

What the tenant must register

Not applicable

How to reduce it

Not applicable

Filing and tax ID

An Australian tax return every year with a tax file number, declaring the net rent. Selling triggers foreign resident capital gains withholding of fifteen percent of the price unless the ATO issues a variation.

VAT or GST on rent

None on residential rent, which is input-taxed.

Municipal and housing fees

Council rates and water charges are the owner's. Land tax applies above a state threshold, and foreign or absentee owners pay a surcharge in New South Wales, Victoria and other states.

Money inside the country

How tenants pay

Direct debit, bank transfer or BPAY into the agent's trust account, which forwards the rent net of fees.

Currency of rent

AUD

Bank account for a non-resident owner

The major banks open accounts for non-residents, often started online before arrival with a passport and address. An agent's trust account is the alternative.

Paying rent to an overseas account

Allowed; nothing in tenancy or tax law requires a local account.

Taking rent out of the country

No capital controls and no exit tax. Rent moves abroad by bank transfer; nothing to declare beyond the tax return.

Owning property abroad from here

Buying abroad

Allowed. A resident may invest abroad freely from foreign-currency funds; investment from ringgit borrowings is capped by the foreign exchange notices.

Reporting foreign assets and accounts

None for an individual.

Tax at home on foreign rent

Exempt in practice. Malaysia taxes residents on foreign income only when remitted, and foreign-source income received by resident individuals is exempt by concession from 2022, extended to 2036, provided it was taxed where it arose.

Bringing rent home

No limit. Rent taxed abroad and brought home falls within the exemption.

Digital identity for e-signing

MyDigital ID is a government single sign-on, not a signing identity; a platform e-signature or a paper signature does the job abroad.

Sources

1. ATO: foreign investment in Australia, residential property — www.ato.gov.au
2. ATO: banning foreign purchases of established dwellings (extended to 30 June 2029) — www.ato.gov.au
3. ATO: vacancy fee return for foreign owners — www.ato.gov.au
4. ATO: residential fees for a foreign person — www.ato.gov.au
5. ATO: tax rates for foreign residents — www.ato.gov.au
6. ATO: foreign resident capital gains withholding, foreign residents and variations — www.ato.gov.au
7. ATO: Australian resident for tax purposes — www.ato.gov.au
8. Revenue NSW: surcharge purchaser duty — www.revenue.nsw.gov.au
9. State Revenue Office Victoria: understanding the absentee owner surcharge — www.sro.vic.gov.au
10. NSW Government: the standard residential tenancy agreement — www.nsw.gov.au
11. Consumer Affairs Victoria: lodging the bond with the RTBA — www.consumer.vic.gov.au
12. Attorney-General's Department: electronic signatures, documents and transactions — www.ag.gov.au
13. Income Tax Department of India: the India–Australia tax treaty — www.incometaxindia.gov.in
14. Bank Negara Malaysia: repatriation of dividends, interest, rental, fees, commissions or profits — www.bnm.gov.my
15. Bank Negara Malaysia: foreign exchange policy notices — www.bnm.gov.my
16. Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN): individuals, including non-residents and stamp duty — www.hasil.gov.my
17. US Department of State: Malaysia investment climate statement (foreign ownership and exchange rules) — www.state.gov
18. Ministry of Finance: exemption of foreign-source income for resident taxpayers — www.mof.gov.my
19. MyDigital ID, the national digital identity — mydigitalid.my
20. Income Tax Department of India: the India–Malaysia tax treaty — www.incometaxindia.gov.in