The Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL) has called for a broader Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program to boost Australian businesses through venture capital funding and to drive future economic growth.
AVCAL made a submission to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection review into the SIV program which claimed there could be a huge boost to the level of investment if drawbacks to the existing SIV regime — including a "narrow band of eligible asset classes under the list of ‘complying investments'" — were tackled.
"The Significant Investor Visa program has proven itself to be an important part of Australia's strategy to compete for global capital from offshore investors," AVCAL's chief executive Yasser El-Ansary said.
"But the program should be expanded in order to allow offshore investors to allocate capital to other asset classes that are critical to supporting the growth of Australia's future, such as venture capital and private equity."
The SIV program has brought in $720 million to Australia from offshore individuals since its inception in late 2012.
"In the venture capital sector, new investment from private individuals over the last three years has averaged $33 million each year, and we think that a more expansive Significant Investor Visa program could lead to a substantial lift in that level of investment over the next few years," El-Ansary said.
AVCAL noted in its submission that other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore are using SIV-equivalent programs to bring in offshore investment to industry sectors that need it.
