The Australian government has announced a review of the country’s popular $5 million significant investor programme to look at ways to speed up processing times and broaden investment opportunities.

Under the current system SIV applicants must invest A$5 million dollars into complying investments over four years. Complying investments include government bonds, ASIC regulated managed funds and direct investment into Australian proprietary companies.

There has been a considerable emphasis on investing into government bonds. Applicants applying for sponsorship in NSW for example must commit a minimum $1.5 million investment into the state’s Waratah Bonds.

Australia is likely to become an increasingly hot migration option for wealthy Chinese migrants after Canada announced last month it was cancelling its 28-year old Immigrant Investor Program – leaving 45,000 Chinese applicants on the waiting list.

Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Michaelia Cash said the government recognised there were implementation issues holding up the progress of the programme.

“There will be particular emphasis on examining ways of enhancing greater flexibility and investment choices to significant investor visa applicants, as well as faster processing of applications for this visa. The review will also examine the possibility of introducing a new permanent visa stream for investment migrants,’ Ms Cash said.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of SIV approvals – with 116 significant investor visa applications being approved since September 2013, bringing more than $580 million in complying investments. In the first 10 months of the SIV being launched in November 2012, just 28 applications were approved.

The vast majority of SIV applicants – more than 90 percent – are from Mainland China.

“This review will further assist the programme to attract international investment to Australia in the competitive global market,” Ms Cash said. ■