Private ruling: Residency
Date of advice: 12 November 2025
Published: 5 January 2026
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia for tax purposes from Date one to Date two? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You were born in Country A. You are a citizen of Country A. You moved to Australia on Date 3 with your de-facto Person A. Prior to arriving in Australia, you lived in a rental property and worked in Country B from Date 4 until Date 5. You held a Personalised employment pass which allowed you to do this. You are in Australia on a 417 Working holiday visa which expires on Date 6. Before the expiration of this visa, you plan to apply for a 3 rd and final 417 Working holiday visa which would allow you to stay in Australia until Date 7. All of your family still live in Country A with the exception of a cousin in City A. You visit your family in Country A for a few days each year. You have registered your de-facto relationship with Person A in City B where you were staying earlier this year. Most of your friends from school and university still live in Country A. You have a friend from Country A who lives in City C. Since arriving in Australia, you have transferred your savings here. You have also bought a car and opened bank accounts in Australia. You hold an Australian driving licence. You don't own any property in Australia or have permanent employment here. You don't have a permanent property lease, but rather travel around the country staying in Air BNBs, motels and pet-sitting using an online platform. You have provided a list of places you have stayed while in Australia. You are not currently employed in Australia. While in Australia, you have done a few days of work on farms and in factories. You receive some income from capital gains on investments in non-Australian securities held in your Australian brokerage account. These investments include stocks and ETFs. You are also paid dividends from the stocks. You have taken several overseas trips in the 20XX income year. You have provided details of your overseas trips. When Person A flies to Country D, you will either go to Country A to spend time with your family or return to Australia. You will return to Australia no later than Date 20.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 subsection 6(1) | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 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 not a resident of Australia under the resides test for the income year ending 30 June 20XX based on the following: • physical presence in Australia - you have been physically present in Australia since . However, during that time you have travelled around the country and stayed in various types of short term accommodation. You do not have permanent accommodation in Australia. You have travelled out of the country multiple times to visit family and friends and for leisure trips. • intention or purpose of presence in Australia - your intention is to eventually reside in Australia. For the 20XX income year, you have worked only a small number of days and travelled around the country sightseeing. Although you may have an intention to stay permanently in Australia, at this point in time the purpose of your presence in Australia has been to travel around the country. • behaviour while in Australia - while in Australia, you have travelled around the country, and also travelled internationally on multiple occasions. Your behaviour while in Australia is that of a tourist visiting Australia to see the country, while working only a few days to support your travel. • family and business/ employment ties - you have one cousin in Australia but no other family members. You have done several days' work at various places in State A but you do not have permanent employment. • maintenance and location of assets - you have a car in Australia which you share with your de-facto. You have no real property either in Country D or in Australia. You receive some income from capital gains on investments in non-Australian securities held in your Australian brokerage account. These investments include stocks and ETFs. You are also paid dividends from the stocks. • social and living arrangements - you came to Australia with Person A. You do not have permanent accommodation in Australia. You travel around the country staying in various types of short term accommodation. Before coming to Australia, you disposed of most of your personal belongings and retain only a few items in a locker in Country D. You may still be an Australian resident if you meet the conditions of one of the other tests (the domicile test, 183-day test and Commonwealth superannuation fund test). | 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. It is considered that you did not abandon your domicile of origin in Country A and acquire a domicile of choice in Australia. You were not entitled to reside in Australia indefinitely and while living in Australia, you only hold a work permit which is valid for several more months. You plan to apply for a 3 rd working holiday permit which would allow you to stay in Australia for another 12 months when your current permit expires. Therefore, your domicile is Country A and 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. | Detailed Reasoning - Application to your situation: You have been in Australia for 183 days or more in the 20XX income year. 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 satisfied that your usual place of abode was outside Australia for the relevant income year ending 30 June 20XX based in the following: • you maintain strong family ties in Country A with the majority of your family living there • you maintain strong social connections in Country A with many of your friends living there • before arriving in Australia, you resided in Country B in rented accommodation for several years, and prior to that, you resided in Country A. • you are able to stay in Australia only on a short term basis as you hold a 417 visa | 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 not intend to take up residence in Australia for the relevant income year because: • You are in Australia on a Working Holiday Maker visa which does not allow you to stay in Australia indefinitely • You are currently travelling overseas and are unsure whether you will travel to Australia or Country A when you have completed your current travels • You maintain strong family and social connections in Country A. | 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: As you do not satisfy any of the four tests of residency, you are not a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the year ended 30 June 20XX.