Private ruling: Residency of Australia for taxation purposes
Date of advice: 28 September 2023
Published: 6 November 2023
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX | Year ended 30 June 20XX | Year ended 30 June 20XX | Year ending 30 June 20XX | Year ending 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia for taxation purposes? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You were born in Australia. You are a citizen of both Australia and Country Z. You left Australia to take up a position in Country Y. Your original contract was for a number of months and the contract was extended to a future year. You entered Country Y on a temporary visa and then residence visa. This visa does not allow you to remain permanently in Country Y, you are required to leave Country Y a few weeks after your employment ends. You initially rented a property in Country Y. You are currently renting a different property which is at your own expense. Prior to your departure, you were residing in your own apartment in Australia. This property was sold shortly after your arrival in Country Y. You do not have a spouse. You do not have any dependants. Your parents are retired and remain in Australia. You do not intend on being overseas on a permanent basis. You have no planned permanent return date to Australia. You have visited Australia a few times since leaving Australia. You have plans to return to Australia for a short period in a few months and will return to Country Y. You live on your own in this property in Country Y. You have bank accounts in Country Y and some household items. You have a rental property in Australia. You have a bank account and a share portfolio in Australia. You gave your household items away in Australia. You took leave without pay from your job and then was asked to resign after a subsequent request for leave without pay was denied. You do not pay tax on your income in Country Y. You are not a resident of Country Y for taxation purposes. You are not eligible to contribute to the PSS or the CSS super funds.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 subsection 6(1)

Reasons for decision: Detailed Reasoning - Overview of the law: Section 995-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) defines an Australian resident for tax purposes as a person who is a resident of Australia for the purposes of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). The terms 'resident' and 'resident of Australia', as applied to an individual, are defined in subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1936. The definition offers four tests to ascertain whether each individual taxpayer is a resident of Australia for income tax purposes. These tests are: • the resides test (also referred to as the ordinary concepts test) • the domicile test • the 183-day test, and • the Commonwealth superannuation fund test. The resides test is the primary test for deciding the residency status of an individual. This test considers whether an individual resides in Australia according to the ordinary meaning of the word 'resides'. Where an individual does not reside in Australia according to ordinary concepts, they will still be an Australian resident if they meet the conditions of one of the other tests (the domicile test, 183-day test and Commonwealth superannuation fund test). Our interpretation of the law in respect of residency is set out in Taxation Ruling TR 2023/1 Income tax: residency tests for individuals . We have considered the statutory tests listed above in relation to your situation as follows: | Detailed Reasoning - The resides test: The ordinary meaning of the word 'reside' has been expressed as 'to dwell permanently or for a considerable time, to have one's settled or usual abode, to live, in or at a particular place': See Commissioner of Taxation v Miller (1946) 73 CLR 93 at 99 per Latham CJ, citing Viscount Cave LC in Levene v Inland Revenue Commissioners [1928] AC 217 at 222, citing the Oxford English Dictionary. Likewise, the Macquarie Dictionary defines 'reside' as 'to dwell permanently or for a considerable time; have one's abode for a time'. The observations contained in the case of Hafza v Director-General of Social Security (1985) 6 FCR 444 are also important: Physical presence and intention will coincide for most of the time. But few people are always at home. Once a person has established a home in a particular place - even involuntarily: see Commissioners of Inland Revenue v Lysaght [1928] AC 234 at 248; and Keil v Keil [1947] VLR 383 - a person does not necessarily cease to be resident there because he or she is physically absent. The test is whether the person has retained a continuity of association with the place - Levene v Inland Revenue Commissioners [1928] AC 217 at 225 and Judd v Judd (1957) 75 WN (NSW) 147 at 149 - together with an intention to return to that place and an attitude that that place remains "home": see Norman v Norman (No 3) (1969) 16 FLR 231 at 235... [W]here the general concept is applicable, it is obvious that, as residence of a place in which a person is not physically present depends upon an intention to return and to continue to treat that place as "home", a change of intention may be decisive of the question whether residence in a particular place has been maintained. The Commissioner considers the following factors in relation to whether a taxpayer is a resident under the 'resides' test: • period of physical presence in Australia • intention or purpose of presence • behaviour while in Australia • family and business/employment ties • maintenance and location of assets • social and living arrangements. It is important to note that no one single factor is decisive, and the weight given to each factor depends on each individual's circumstances. Because the ordinary concepts test is whether an individual resides in Australia, the factors focus on the individual's connection to Australia. Having a connection with another country, or being a resident of another country, does not diminish any connection to Australia: Logan J in Pike v Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 2185 at 57 reminds us that 'it is no part of the ordinary meaning of reside in the 1936 Act that there be a "principal" or even "usual" place of residence. ... It is important that ... "resident" not be construed and applied as if there were such adjectival qualifications.' For this reason, the test is not about dominance or exclusivity. Application to your situation We have taken the following into consideration when determining whether you meet the resides test for the 2022 income year: • You left Australia to go to Country Y. • Prior to your departure you were residing in your own apartment in Australia. This property was sold shortly after your departure. • You have gone to Country Y to work. • Your original contract was for several months and the contract was extended to a future year. • You rent accommodation in Country Y at your own expense. • You have purchased some household items in Country Y. • You gave away your household items in Australia. • You took some sentimental items to Country Y with you. • You have made a few short visits back to Australia since leaving. • You do not have a spouse or dependants. • You have no planned return date to Australia. • You resigned from your position in Australia. The Commissioner is satisfied that you have broken your connection with Australia. You have been living and working in Country Y since leaving and you have extended your contract. By the time that your contract ends you will have been outside Australia living and working for a number of years. You also sold your property in Australia shortly after your departure and gave away all but some sentimental household and personal items to your friends in Australia. You have no planned return date to Australia. The Commissioner does not believe you are a resident of Australia for taxation purposes. | Detailed Reasoning - Domicile test: Under the domicile test, you are a resident of Australia if your domicile is in Australia unless the Commissioner is satisfied that your permanent place of abode is outside Australia. Domicile Whether your domicile is in Australia is determined by the Domicile Act 1982 and the common law rules on domicile. Your domicile is your domicile of origin (usually the domicile of your father at the time of your birth) unless you have a domicile of dependence or have acquired a domicile of choice elsewhere. To acquire a domicile of choice of a particular country you must be lawfully present there and hold the positive intention to make that country your home indefinitely. Your domicile continues until you acquire a different domicile. Whether your domicile has changed depends on an objective consideration of all relevant facts. Application to your situation In your case, you were born in Australia and your domicile of origin is Australia. It is considered that you did not abandon your domicile of origin in Australia and acquire a domicile of choice in Country Y. You were not entitled to reside in Country Y indefinitely and while living in Country Y, you hold a special residence visa which requires you to depart Country Y within a matter of weeks after concluding your employment. Therefore, your domicile is Australia. Permanent place of abode If you have an Australian domicile, you are an Australian resident unless the Commissioner is satisfied that your permanent place of abode is outside Australia. This is a question of fact to be determined in light of all the facts and circumstances of each case. 'Permanent' does not mean everlasting or forever, but it is to be distinguished from temporary or transitory. The phrase 'permanent place of abode' calls for a consideration of the physical surroundings in which you live, extending to a town or country. It does not extend to more than one country, or a region of the world. The Full Federal Court in Harding v Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 29 held at paragraphs 36 and 40 that key considerations in determining whether a taxpayer has their permanent place of abode outside Australia are: • whether the taxpayer has definitely abandoned, in a permanent way, living in Australia • whether the taxpayer is living in a town, city, region or country in a permanent way. The Commissioner considers the following factors relevant to whether a taxpayer's permanent place of abode is outside Australia: (a) the intended and actual length of the taxpayer's stay in the overseas country; (b) whether the taxpayer intended to stay in the overseas country only temporarily and then to move on to another country or to return to Australia at some definite point in time; (c) whether the taxpayer has established a home (in the sense of dwelling place; a house or other shelter that is the fixed residence of a person, a family, or a household), outside Australia; (d) whether any residence or place of abode exists in Australia or has been abandoned because of the overseas absence; (e) the duration and continuity of the taxpayer's presence in the overseas country; and (f) the durability of association that the person has with a particular place in Australia, i.e. maintaining assets in Australia, informing government departments such as the Department of Social Security that he or she is leaving permanently and that family allowance payments should be stopped, place of education of the taxpayer's children, family ties and so on. As with the factors under the resides test, no one single factor is decisive, and the weight given to each factor depends on the individual circumstances. Application to your situation We have taken the following into consideration when deciding whether your permanent place of abode is outside Australia: • You have been living and working outside Australia in Country Y • You rent accommodation in Country Y which is a yearly lease • Your contract does not end until a future year • Prior to your departure you were residing in your own apartment, in Australia. This property was sold around the time of your departure • You gave away your belongings in Australia • You took sentimental items to Country Y with you • You have only made short trips back to Australia since leaving • You have resigned from your employment in Australia The Commissioner is satisfied that your permanent place of abode is outside Australia. Therefore, you are not a resident of Australia under the domicile test. | Detailed Reasoning - 183-day test: Where a person is present in Australia for 183 days or more during the year of income the person will be a resident, unless the Commissioner is satisfied that both: • the person's usual place of abode is outside Australia, and • the person does not intend to take up residence in Australia. Application to your situation You have not been in Australia for more than 183 days since leaving Australia. You are therefore not a resident under this test. | Detailed Reasoning - Superannuation test: An individual is a resident of Australia if they are either a member of the superannuation scheme established by deed under the Superannuation Act 1990 or an eligible employee for the purposes of the Superannuation Act 1976 , or they are the spouse, or the child under 16, of such a person. Application to your situation You are not a member on behalf of whom contributions are being made to the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS) or the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) or a spouse of such a person, or a child under 16 of such a person. Therefore, you are not a resident under this test. | Detailed Reasoning - Conclusion: You are a not a resident of Australia for taxation purposes since you left Australia.