Private ruling: Residency
Date of advice: 10 April 2026
Published: 29 June 2026
Ruling period: Year ending 30 June 20YY | Year ending 30 June 20YY
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20YY

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia for tax purposes? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You were born in Australia and are a citizen of Australia. You have a spouse. Your spouse was born in Country X and is a citizen of Australia. You have been employed by Company A since DD MM 20YY. In MM 20YY, you commenced an expat contract for work based in Country Y. You were provided with a visa which allowed you to stay and work in Country Y for the duration of your expat contract. Your visa was provided by your employer. Between DD 20YY and DD 20YY, you visited several countries for short holidays and work trips. You also travelled to Australia once for several days. On DD MM 20YY, Company B confirmed your temporary secondment for a period of XX months. On DD MM 20YY, you signed an employment contract with Company B. In MM 20YY, you and your spouse travelled to Country Z, and you commenced working for Company B. You were provided with a visa, allowing you to stay and work in Country Z for the duration of the secondment contract. Your visa was provided by Company B. You were paid a relocation allowance on commencement of your secondment. Your employment contract outlines that you will be provided with a company furnished serviced apartment. The lease will be in Company B's name and payments will be paid at a monthly rate directly to the landlord, an independent company. Company B arranges payment of utilities. You were provided with a lease vehicle for the duration of your secondment. The vehicle lease costs and insurance costs are paid by Company B. You are required to pay for fuel and toll costs. You receive a home leave travel allowance. Between MM 20YY and MM 20YY, you visited several countries for short holidays and for a short work trip. You also travelled to Australia several times for XX days in total. You do not currently have any dependents; however, you and your spouse are expecting a child due in MM 20YY. Your extended family lives in Australia. Your extended family in Australia have visited you several times since MM 20YY. In Australia, you had professional connections with your co-workers and played sports. You have not maintained any professional, social or sporting connections in Country Z. You have a driver's license in Australia, Country Y and Country Z. You do not own any property in Australia. Prior to departing Australia, you rented properties. You have bank accounts in Australia. You have a bank account in Country Y and a bank account in Country Z for everyday spending. You have superannuation in Australia. You have investment accounts in Australia. You have stored furniture and personal effects at your relative's property in Australia. You did not notify the Australian Electoral Commission or Medicare that you were departing Australia. You notified your private health insurer in Australia to suspend your policy. You receive your mail in Australia. You do not intend on applying for citizenship or permanent residency in Country Z. Your employment contract is scheduled to finish on DD MM 20YY. You and your spouse intend to return to Australia when your employment contract finishes. You have an employment position being held for you with Company A. You intend to purchase property with your spouse when you return to Australia. You are not a resident of any foreign country for taxation purposes. You are not a contributing member or the spouse of a contributing member of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS) or the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS).

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1) | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 995-1(1)

Reasons for decision: Detailed Reasoning - Detailed reasoning: 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... 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 resides test is about 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. The ordinary meaning of reside does not require an individual to have a principle or usual place of residence in Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your situation: You are a resident of Australia under the resides test from DD MM 20YY based on the following: • You are staying in a furnished accommodation in Country Z provided and paid by your employer, in which we consider it has the employment association but lacks some private living characters. • You do not intend to remain in Country Z and become a citizen or permanent resident. • You intend to return to Australia once your employment contract finishes. • You have stored furniture and personal effects in Australia. • You intend on purchasing property when you return to Australia. • You have bank accounts in Australia. • You have investment accounts in Australia. • You have a driver's licence in Australia. • You suspended but have not cancelled your private health insurance in Australia. • You had professional connections with your co-workers in Australia and played sports. • You have not maintained any professional, social or sporting connections in Country Z. • Your extended family lives in Australia. • You receive your mail in Australia. • You have an employment position being held for you in Australia. Although the law only requires you to be considered a resident under one test, for completeness the other tests are also considered. | 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. | Detailed Reasoning - 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. | Detailed Reasoning - 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 Z. You are not entitled to reside in Country Z indefinitely and while living in Country Z, you only held a temporary work visa which was valid for the duration of your employment contract. Therefore, your domicile is Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - 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] FCAFC 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: • the intended and actual length of the taxpayer's stay in the overseas country • 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 • 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 • whether any residence or place of abode exists in Australia or has been abandoned because of the overseas absence • the duration and continuity of the taxpayer's presence in the overseas country • 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. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your situation: The Commissioner is not satisfied that your permanent place of abode is outside Australia because: • You are staying in a furnished accommodation in Country Z provided and paid by your employer, for which we do not consider it a 'permanent home' in nature, as you did not personally enter any long-term lease agreement to establish a home in Country Z; it is associated with your temporary secondment. • You do not intend to remain in Country Z and become a citizen or permanent resident. • There is no suggestion of any intention for you to purchase a permanent home in Country Z. • You intend to return to Australia once your employment contract finishes. • You have stored furniture and personal effects in Australia. • You intend on purchasing property when you return to Australia. • You did not notify the Australian Electoral Commission or Medicare that you were departing Australia permanently. • You have suspended but have not cancelled your private health insurance in Australia. • You receive your mail in Australia. • Your extended family lives in Australia. • Your presence in Australia from the X trips for X days in total following your arrival in Country Z is not insignificant, which can be considered an interruption to the continuity of your presence in Country Z. Therefore, you are 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. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your situation: You have not been present in Australia for 183 days or more during the 20YY income year and you do not intend to be present in Australia for 183 days or more during the 20YY income year. Therefore, you are 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. | Detailed Reasoning - 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 satisfy the resides and the domicile tests of residency and so are a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the income years ending 30 June 20YY and 30 June 20YY