Private ruling: Residency
Date of advice: 12 May 2026
Published: 20 July 2026
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20YY | Year ended 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 for the 20YY income year? | A1: Yes. | Q2: Are you a resident of Australia for tax purposes for the 20YY and 20YY income years? | A2: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You were born in Australia and are a citizen of Australia. In 20YY, you purchased a property in Australia. From the date of settlement, you lived in your property and rented half of the property. In MM 20YY, you rented your entire property in Australia. You manage the rental of the property yourself and continue to pay all expenses. In MM 20YY, you moved to Country X to play sport on a visa. In MM 20YY, you travelled to Country Y for a short holiday. On DD MM 20YY, you returned to Australia when the sporting season in Country X had been completed. You stayed with your parents during this time. On DD MM 20YY, you moved to Country Z to play sport on a sporting employment contact on a visa. Between MM 20YY and MM 20YY, you visited several countries for short holidays and to visit a friend. On DD MM 20YY, you returned to Australia when the sporting season in Country Z had completed and commenced full time employment in Australia. On DD MM 20YY, you moved to Country Y to play sport on a visa. Your contract was due to end in MM 20YY, and your visa was due to expire in MM 20YY. Upon your arrival in Country Y, you were provided with a shared team accommodation by the sporting club for the duration of the season. Following the completion of the sporting season, you were offered an opportunity to play sport in Country Y for an additional season. Between MM 20YY and MM 20YY, you travelled to several countries for short holidays. In MM 20YY, you commenced working in Country Y on a full-time basis. You were provided with a permit which allowed you to remain in Country Y and continue to play sport for the additional season. This permit will expire on DD MM 20YY. On DD MM 20YY, you travelled to Australia for several days. Between MM 20YY and MM 20YY, you visited several countries for short holidays and to visit a friend. In MM 20YY, you contacted a mortgage broker to commence the process of refinancing your home loan. In MM 20YY, you ceased playing sport due to a conflict with the team's management. Your accommodation arrangement with the sporting club was terminated immediately. At this time, you decided to remain employed in Country Y until your home loan had settled. In MM 20YY, you signed a lease for a month-to-month rental property in Country Y. The rental property was provided to you partially furnished. In MM 20YY, the process of refinancing your home loan was complete, and you commenced making plans to return to Australia. At this time, you applied for an employment position in Australia. In MM 20YY, you purchased a transportation device which you intend to use when you return to Australia. On DD MM 20YY, you travelled to Australia to complete an assessment as you were unable to complete this from outside of Australia. You stayed in Australia for a period and during this time, you also registered your transportation device and brought some of your belongings back to Australia. Between MM 20YY and MM 20YY, you travelled to several countries for short holidays. You are a resident of Country Y for tax purposes from when you commenced employment in Country Y. You do not have any dependents. You have social and sporting connections in Australia. You have social connections in Country Y. You have professional connections associated with your employment in Country Y. You have a driver's licence in Country Y. You have a driver's licence in Australia. You do not own a motor vehicle in Australia. You did not notify Company A that you were departing Australia and continue to vote via post. You do not have private health insurance in any country. You receive some of your mail in Australia at both your property and your relative's' property. You receive some of your mail in Country Y at your rental property. You applied to study in Australia. You received an offer for a course; however, you did not accept the offer. You own shares in Australia. You have notified the Australian institutions that you own shares with that you are a foreign tax resident. When completing incoming and outgoing passenger cards you state that you are a resident of Australia. You have bank accounts in Australia. You have an Australian credit card which you use for most purchases. You have an online bank account in Country Y that you receive your wage into. You immediately transfer this amount to your bank accounts in Australia. You do not speak the language in Country Y. You have been unsuccessful in obtaining an employment position in Australia. You had a return flight booked to Australia, in anticipation of being successful in your employment application. This flight was due to depart on DD MM 20YY; however, you decided to cancel this flight. You intend to continue searching for employment in Australia. You intend to continue working in Country Y until you have secured employment in Australia. You intend to return to Australia only once you have secured employment in Australia. You intend to terminate the tenancy agreement for the tenants living in your property in Australia when you return to Australia. 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 not a resident of Australia under the resides test for the 20YY income year based on the following: • You have rented your property in Australia, and it is therefore unavailable to you. • You departed Australia to play sport in Country Y for an extended period. • You did not make any return trips to Australia following your departure. The Commissioner is not satisfied you are an Australian resident under the resides test for the 20YY income year. You are not a resident of Australia under the resides test for the 20YY and 20YY income years based on the following: • You have continued to rent your property in Australia, and it is therefore unavailable to you. • You have made limited visits to Australia since you departed have spent a limited amount of time in Australia. • You signed a private lease on a property in Country Y. • You have employment in Country Y on a permanent basis. • You have professional connections associated with your employment in Country Y. • You have social connections in Country Y. • You have a driver's licence in Country Y. The Commissioner is not satisfied you are an Australian resident under the resides test for the 20YY and 20YY income years. 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 Australia, and your domicile of origin is Australia. You are a citizen of 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 only held a working holiday visa valid for the duration of your sporting contract and a permit which is valid until DD MM 20YY. 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 for the 20YY income year because: • You stayed in temporary accommodation provided by your sporting organisation in Country Y. • You intended to return to Australia following the conclusion of your sporting contract. • You travelled frequently to various continents. Therefore, you are a resident of Australia under the domicile test for the 20YY income year as your permanent place of abode is not outside Australia. The Commissioner is satisfied that your permanent place of abode is outside Australia for the 20YY and 20YY income years because: • You signed a lease on a property in Country Y. • You obtained a temporary residence permit in Country Y, not due to expire until DD MM 20YY. • You have employment in Country Y on a permanent basis. • You have professional connections associated with your employment in Country Y. • You do not have a return flight booked to Australia. • You are uncertain when you will return to return to Australia. • You intend to remain in Country Y until you can secure employment in Australia. • You intend to terminate the tenancy agreement for the tenants living in your property in Australia only when you return to Australia. • You receive some of your mail at your rental property in Country Y. • You have a driver's licence in Country Y. Therefore, you are not a resident of Australia under the domicile test for the 20YY and 20YY income years as your permanent place of abode is outside Australia in Country Y. | 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, 20YY and 20YY income years. Therefore, the Commissioner considers that 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 for the 20YY, 20YY and 20YY income years. | Detailed Reasoning - Conclusion: You satisfy the domicile test of residency and so are a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the year ended 30 June 20YY. You do not satisfy any of the four tests of residency for the 20YY and 20YY income years. As such, you are not a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the year ended 30 June 20YY and the year ending 30 June 20YY.