Private ruling: Residency
Date of advice: 21 January 2026
Published: 9 March 2026
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX | Year ending 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia for tax purposes as defined by subsection 6(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) for the 20XX-XX and 20XX-XX income years? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: Background On DD MM YYYY, you were born in Country A. On DD MM YYYY, you arrived in Australia. In MM YYYY, you were granted permanent residency in Australia. In MM YYYY, you were granted Australian citizenship. Relocation to Country B In MM YYYY, you temporarily relocated to Country B to support your child's while they undertake their secondary education at a local school. You intend to return to Australia upon completion of your child's schooling, which is expected to finalise within two to three years. You declare your residency status as 'returning home' and list your Australian residential address on all passenger cards. You are not a tax resident of any foreign country. You hold a Visa in Country B valid from MM YYYY to MM YYYY, which is temporary. You do not intend to apply for citizenship or permanent residency in Country B. You temporarily reside in a friend's property in Country B, with no leasehold or ownership interest. Your spouse is based in Australia and travels to and from Country B on a visa issued in MM YYYY. Australian Assets and Connections You maintain substantial and ongoing personal and family ties in Australia, where your immediate family and long-standing social connections reside. You continue to maintain the following connections in Australia: • active Medicare enrolment • valid Australian driver's licence • electoral roll registration • active Australian mobile phone number • two Australian bank accounts, regularly used for property and business transactions • ongoing home loan repayments in Australia Your principal place of residence remains in Australia, and you continue to treat it as your main residence. The property was leased from MM YYYY to MM YYYY. Upon the lease ending on DD MM YYYY, you moved your furniture back into the property and intend to resume living there in MM YYYY. You own an investment property in Australia, which you hold for long-term investment purposes. Your mail is forwarded to you via your agent. You have not acquired or disposed of any significant assets in Australia during the relevant years. Country B Assets You hold no overseas assets apart from a bank account and private health insurance in Country B, both of which are maintained only for the duration of your Country B working visa. You do not own any property, investments, or other permanent financial interests in Country B. Associations with Australia You maintain active professional and social connections in Australia, including affiliations with various cultural, community, and charitable organisations. You have not advised any Australian financial institutions or companies that you are a foreign resident for non-resident withholding tax purposes. You have not removed your name from the Australian Electoral office electoral roll. You have not removed your name from Medicare. You do not hold any private health insurance in Australia. You hold an Australian driver's licence. Associations with Country B You have not established or maintained any professional, social, or sporting connections in Country B beyond those directly associated with your temporary accommodation and employment. You hold a valid driver's licence issued in Country B. Income You remain the sole director and shareholder of Company A, an Australian company that continues to operate actively. You maintain your managerial and decision-making responsibilities from abroad. You received rental income from your Australian properties and employment income from Company A during the 20XX-XX and 20XX-XX income years. You are employed in Country B as a Business Development Manager for the period DD MM YYYY to DD MM YYYY. This work is performed entirely in-country and not undertaken remotely. Superannuation You are not a member of a superannuation scheme established by deed under the Superannuation Act 1990 (the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme). Dependents Your child is your sole dependent. Return to Australia You return to Australia regularly, typically undertaking one to two visits each year, with each visit lasting approximately two to four weeks. You plan to return to Australia permanently in MM YYYY when your work visa expires, while continuing to travel to Country B to visit your child.

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 - 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... 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: Consistent with the comments in the Hafza case, above, you are a resident of Australia under the resides test for the period DD MM YYYY to DD MM YYYY based on the following: • You were physically present in Australia for the following periods: - DD MM YYYY to DD MM YYYY - DD MM YYYY to DD MM YYYY • Intention or purpose - In DD MM YYYY, you temporarily relocated to Country B to accompany your child during their secondary education. - You intend to return to Australia once your child's education concludes, expected within approximately two to three years. - On all passenger cards, you declare your residency status as returning home and list your Australian residential address. - You do not intend to apply for citizenship or permanent residency in Country B. - You are not a tax resident of any foreign jurisdiction. • Behaviour - You maintain substantial and ongoing personal and family ties in Australia, where your immediate family and long-term social connections remain. - You continue to maintain: o Active Medicare enrolment o A valid Australian driver's licence o Electoral roll registration o An Australian mobile phone number o Australian bank accounts used for property and business transactions o Ongoing repayments on an Australian home loan - You have not informed Australian financial institutions or companies that you are a foreign resident for withholding tax purposes. • Family or employment ties - Your spouse remains based in Australia and travels between Australia and Country B on a temporary work visa. - You have one dependent child. - You remain the sole director and shareholder of an Australian company that continues to operate actively. - You maintain your managerial and decision-making responsibilities from Country B. - In Country B, you hold temporary employment with a company as a Business Development Manager under a work visa valid from DD MM YYYY to DD MM YYYY. You use this temporary employment to facilitate your stay overseas while you support your child. • Maintenance and location of assets - You continue to own your principal residence in Australia. It was leased from MM YYYY to MM YYYY, and after the lease ended you reinstated your furniture and plan to resume living there in MM YYYY. - You also own an investment property in Australia which is held as a long-term investment. - Your mail is forwarded to you. - You have not acquired or disposed of any significant assets in Australia during the relevant years. - You do not hold any assets outside Australia other than a bank account and private health insurance in Country B, which is required for the duration of your foreign work visa. - You do not own a motor vehicle in Australia or Country B, but you maintain valid driver's licences in both jurisdictions. • Social and living arrangements - You maintain active professional and social connections in Australia, including involvement with cultural, community, and charitable organisations - You have not developed or maintained professional, social, or sporting connections in Country B beyond your temporary accommodation and employment. - You reside temporarily in a friend's privately owned property in Country B, and you do not hold any leasehold or ownership interest in that property. You are an Australian resident under the resides test. 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 Country A, and your domicile of origin is Country A. You immigrated to Australia on DD MM YYYY and became an Australian citizen in MM YYYY. It is considered that you abandoned your domicile of origin in Country A and acquired a domicile of choice in Australia. You are not entitled to reside in Country B indefinitely and, while living in Country B, you only hold a temporary work visa valid until MM YYYY. You do not intend to apply for citizenship or permanent residency in Country B, and you have stated your intention to return to Australia upon completion of your child's schooling. 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 relocated to Country B in MM YYYY for a temporary and specific purpose (your child's schooling), and you intend to return to Australia upon completion of his education. • You hold only a temporary overseas work visa valid until DD MM YYYY, with no intention to seek citizenship or permanent residency in Country B. • You continue to maintain your principal place of residence in Australia which you intend to reoccupy. • You retain significant Australian assets, including your home and an investment property, and have not disposed of any major Australian assets. • You maintain substantial personal, family, and economic ties to Australia, including ongoing home loan repayments, active Medicare enrolment, Australian driver's licence, electoral roll registration, and Australian bank accounts. • Your spouse and immediate family continue to maintain connections with Australia. • Your accommodation in Country B is temporary, and you have not established a permanent home or significant personal ties in the foreign country. 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 20XX-XX and 20XX-XX income years. 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 test and domicile test of residency and are a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the income year ended 30 June 20XX and income year ending 30 June 20XX.