Private ruling: Residency
Date of advice: 9 April 2026
Published: 29 June 2026
Ruling period: XX XXXXX 20XX | XX XXXXX 20XX
Date scheme commenced: XX XXXXX 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia under 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: On XX XXXXX 19XX, you were born in Country A. You are citizen of Country A and not any other country. You hold a Country A Passport. On XXXX, you arrived in Australia on a XXXX XXXXX Visa (XXX). You have remained in Australia under a range of Visa's as follows: • Visa A, class XXX, granted XX XXXXX 20XX - stayed until XX XXXXX 20XX • Visa A, class XXX, granted XX XXXXX 20XX - stayed until XX XXXXX 20XX • Visa A class XXX, granted XX XXXXX 20XX - stayed until XX XXXXX 20XX • Visa A, class XXX, granted XX XXXXX 20XX - stayed until XX XXXXX 20XX • Visa B, class XXX, granted XX XXXXX 20XX - stayed until XX XXXXX 20XX • Visa C, class XXX, granted XX XXXXX 20XX - stayed until XX XXXXX 20XX The Visa A visa allows people to have a holiday in Australia and also work. The Visa B Visa allows people to come to Australia to specific types of work on a shorter, temporary basis. The Visa C allows people to take part in workplace based occupational training activities to improve their skills for their job, are of tertiary study, field of expertise or in a professional development training program in Australia. Your Visa C is sponsored by your current employer B. Whilst you have been on Visa A you have been employed both in Casual and Part-time roles across industries such as fruit picker, barista, barman, waiter. On XX XXXXX 20XX, you opened an Australian Superannuation Fund, with Superannuation Fund A. On XX XXXXX 20XX, you purchased a motor vehicle in Australia and hold an Australian Driver's licence, your licence expires XX XXXXX 20XX. On XX XXXXX 20XX, you were employed by the Employer A in the role of Restaurant Manager on a full-time basis. Since XXXXX 20XX, you have leased XX properties, each with a XX-month lease. Your current address is Property A. You are named on the lease agreements as the tenant. The Employer A was sold to Employer B in XXXXX 20XX. You continued your employment with Employer B on a full-time basis in the same role and have maintained this employment for over XX years. Your current employment contract does not have a fixed term. Your employment at the Employer A was covered by your XXXXX XXXX and XXXXX Visas. Your primary source of income in Australia is your Salary and Wages; you do not have any other sources of income inside or outside of Australia. You applied for a Tax File Number (TFN) upon your arrival in Australia. You have submitted individual income tax returns in Australia from 20XX-XX to 20XX-XX income years inclusive. You have not lodged any income tax returns in Country A whilst living in Australia. You do not have any jobs being held for you back in Country A. On XX XXXXX 20XX, you have commenced Diploma A with the Australian Institute A. The diploma reflects the role of highly skilled senior operators who use a broad range of hospitality skills combined with managerial skills and sound knowledge of industry to coordinate hospitality operations. You undertook this course to enhance your professional skills and expertise, and to pursue alternative pathways towards securing permanent residency in Australia. The diploma consists of the following units: • Enhance customer services experiences • Develop and manage quality customer services practices • Manage conflict • Manage finances within a budget • Prepare and monitor budgets • Identify and manage legal risks and comply with the law • Roster staff • Lead and manage people • Monitor work operations • Establish and conduct business relationships On XX XXXXX 20XX, you have fulfilled the requirement of a Diploma A management and been issued with a certificate and transcript confirming this. You maintain XXX Australian bank accounts. Your salary and wages are paid into your Australian bank accounts you use these funds to pay for goods, services and bills while living in Australia. Your personal and household effects are only located within Australia. You do not have any possessions in Country A. You do not own or maintain a home overseas. You have no other assets outside of Australia. You have primarily lived in City A, State A since arriving in Australia. You have connected utility services such as gas, electricity and water in your name. On XX XXXXX 20XX, your current rental lease will expire. Your intention is to extend the lease upon its expiration. Your immediate family reside in Country A permanently, and you do not have ties to any other country. Your immediate family have not visited Australia. You do not have a spouse or any dependants. You have a strong and deeply established network of friends in Australia through your job and social activities. You have been a member of Gym A for around XX years. You are not a member of any other professional or sporting clubs in Australia. You do not maintain any professional, social or sporting connections in Country A. You have made limited short trips since arriving in Australia. These trips are as follows: • From XX XXXXX 20XX - XX XXXXX 20XX, you travelled to Country B for a holiday • From XX XXXXX 20XX - XX XXXXX 20XX, you travelled to Country A to visit your family, then returned to Australia. • From XX XXXXX 20XX - XX XXXXX 20XX, you travelled to Country A to visit your sibling A, you returned to Australia after this holiday. • You have not done any other travelling since arriving in Australia on XX XXXXX 20XX. You have continued to maintain a stable living arrangement and resided in Australia, even though you have had overseas holidays. You have maintained Insurance A in Australia. You have not registered for the Australian Electoral Commission and Medicare. You are not a member of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme or Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme. Your intention is to reside permanently in Australia. You have no obligation and no intention to return to Country A. You intend to apply for citizenship or permanent residency in Australia once eligible. In XXXXXX 20XX, you engaged migration specialists to submit a Visa D Application. You are requested to complete a skills assessment for this visa. The application is still processing. After completing XX years of eligible employment in State A from the time the Visa D is granted, you can apply for permanent residency under the Visa E.

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

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: You are a resident of Australia under the resides test for the period XX XXXXX 20XX to XX XXXXX 20XXbased on the following: You have been physically present in Australia since XX XXXXX 20XX. You arrived here on a Visa A and subsequently held a Visa B. You are currently on a Visa C sponsored by your employer; the period of this visa is XX XXXXX 20XX to XX XXXXX 20XX. You have maintained full-time employment with Employer A (subsequently purchased by Employer B) for XX years. Your intention is to live and work in Australia. This is evidence by you: • Obtaining XX rental property leases since 20XX, each with XX-month leases • Opening XX bank accounts • Obtaining utilities such as gas, electricity and water • Obtaining a Tax File Number (TFN) • You intend to apply for a Citizenship or Permanent Residency in Australia once eligible • You have become a member of Gym A for around XX years. • You maintain Insurance A in Australia. • You have no assets outside of Australia. • You do not own or maintain a home overseas. • You have purchased a motor vehicle and obtained an Australian Drivers Licence. • In your case, you are still a citizen of Country A and moved to Australia on XX XXXXX 20XX. Based on the information that you have provided, the Commissioner is satisfied that your intention is to reside in Australia. • You intend to apply for citizenship or permanent residency in Australia once you are eligible. • You intend to apply for citizenship or permanent residency in Australia once you are eligible. • This may change if you decide to return to Country A and meet the residency test for tax purposes. 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 arrived in Australia on XX XXXXX 20XX. It is considered that you did not abandon your domicile of origin in Country A and acquired a domicile of choice in Australia. You were not entitled to reside in Australia indefinitely and while living in here, you only held temporary visas with your current Visa C which ceases on XX XXXXX 20XX. Therefore, your domicile is Country A, and you are not a resident of Australia under this 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 been in Australia for 183 days or more in the 20XX-XX and 20XX-XX income years. Therefore, you will be a resident under this test unless the Commissioner is satisfied that your usual place of abode was outside Australia and you do not have an intention to take up residence in Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - Usual place of abode: In the context of the 183-day test, a person's usual place of abode is the place they usually live and can include a dwelling or a country. A person can have only one usual place of abode under the 183-day test. However, it is also possible that a person does not have a usual place of abode. This is the case for a person who merely travels through various countries without developing any strong connections. If a person has places of abode both inside and outside Australia, then a comparison may need to be made to determine which is their usual place of abode. When comparing two places of abode of a particular person, we will examine the nature and quality of the use which the person makes of each particular place of abode. It may then be possible to determine which is the usual one, as distinct from the other or others which, while they may be places of abode, are not properly characterised as the person's usual place of abode: Emmett J at [78] in Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Executors of the Estate of Subrahmanyam [2001] FCA 1836. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your situation: The Commissioner is not satisfied that your usual place of abode was outside Australia for the relevant income years based in the following: • You do not own or maintain a home overseas. • You have primarily lived in State A and held leases in your name. • You have connected utilities such as gas, water and electricity in your name. • You have travelled to Country A for limited short trips and returned to Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - Intention to take up residency: To determine whether you intend to take up residence in Australia, we look at evidence of relevant objective facts. 'Intend to take up residency' does not merely mean intend to stay for a long time. It means intending to live here in such a manner that you would reside here. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your situation: The Commissioner is satisfied that you did intend to take up residence in Australia for the relevant income years because: • You have full-time employment with Employer A (subsequently purchased by /employer B) and have worked with this employer for XX years. • You have XX bank accounts in Australia for your salary and wages to be paid into. • You have memberships with Gym A. • You have superannuation with Superannuation Fund A. • You maintain Insurance A in Australia. • You have continued to maintain a stable living arrangement and resided in Australia, returning to Australia when you have been on holidays. • You have had long-term rental accommodation since 20XX, renting XX properties each for a XX-month period. • You have full-time employment with Employer A then Employer B. • Your current employment contract does not have a fixed term. • You have primarily resided in State A since coming to Australia. • You have completed Diploma A, being issued with a certificate and transcript confirming this. • You have submitted income tax returns in Australia from 20XX-XX to 20XX-XX inclusive. • You have all your personal and household effects in Australia, and no other possessions in Country A. • In XXXXX 20XX you have taken steps to obtain a Visa D which is being processed. From the time this visa is granted and after XX years of employment you can apply for permanent residency under the Visa E. • Your intention is to live and work in Australia indefinitely and apply for Citizenship or permanent residency once eligible. You will be a resident of Australia under the 183-day test for the 20XX-XX and 20XX-XX income years based in the current facts in the private ruling request continuing to apply as presented. | 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 183-day tests of residency and so are a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the years ended 20XX-XX and 20XX-XX.