Australia is not as "open for business" as the Coalition government claims, says the main lobby group representing the country's biggest companies.
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) said the government's plan to slash the screening threshold for overseas investment in farmland and food businesses was "actively discouraging foreign investment" and had little justification.
The criticism was part of report published on Tuesday. It outlined the BCA's plan to grow and strengthen the global competitiveness of Australia's food producers. 
"The government has declared that it is 'open for business'," the BCA said, referring to the mantra of former primer minister Tony Abbott.
"However, its recent decisions have sent the opposite message to potential international investors considering investing in the agrifood sector."
The BCA report came two weeks after Treasurer Scott Morrison blocked the sale of Australia's biggest cattle station, S. Kidman and Co, to Chinese investors, citing its size and proximity to the Woomera Prohibited Area, which had been used to test nuclear bombs and launch satellites.
The BCA criticised the government for lowering the screening threshold for foreign investment in farmland and food businesses from $252 million to $15 million and $55 million, respectively, saying there was little evidence to support the cut.
Former treasurer Joe Hockey announced the changes, which start early next year, in   September.
He said the "community must have confidence" a foreign "investment is coming in on our terms and for our nation's benefit".
However, the BCA said the new thresholds were decided without the government undertaking the "proper regulatory review process".
"No regulatory impact statement was prepared or released prior to the decision being made. The regulatory impact statement that has now been undertaken does not provide sufficient evidence to support lowering the thresholds for agribusiness."
The BCA also said the application fees that a foreign company paid to the government were excessive and a "deterrent to foreign investment".
"The fees, as currently proposed for an acquisition of a company greater than $1 billion, would be $100,000. In comparison, the application fee for submitting a prospectus for listing on the Australian stock exchange is $7000 irrespective of the size of a company."
Gary Helou, the managing director of Australia's biggest milk processor, Murray Goulburn, said "we should be open" when it came to foreign investment.
He said Australia's food bowl needed a $1 trillion injection between now and 2050 to compete globally and fully capitalise on Asia's fast-growing middle-class.
"We see it in the dairy industry, we simply do not have the footprint as a sector to manufacture the array of products in the way consumers want them in Asia and certainly in the volumes they want," Mr Helou said.
"A massive amount of money is required and this can't be done within. It has got to be a collaborative approach. We need to open up and have domestic and international funds coming in to help develop this great sector."
Alison Watkins, the chief executive of Australia's biggest soft drink maker, Coca-Cola Amatil, said the willingness for overseas investors to pour cash into Australia wouldn't last forever.
"We are not the only game in town," she said.
"None of us have a crystal ball. But it is very clear that while we do have these competitive advantages around our clean, green, safe image, there are alternatives and New Zealand is a great one.
"But there are other countries. Brazil is one which will be providing similar sorts of propositions, there's also Canada."
BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott said Australia's agriculture and food manufacturing sectors needed to be viewed as one to spur growth in the country's food bowl.
"If there is one thing we'd say to government, it's 'don't think of this as raw materials and commodity production'. If we can get that mindset shift to say 'this is about re-energising our manufacturing sector using our natural advantages', that in itself would bring a whole lot of policy changes."