Edited version of private advice

Authorisation Number: 1051975591477

Date of advice: 4 May 2022

Ruling

Subject: Residency

Question

Are you a resident for taxation purposes?

Answer

Yes.

This ruling applies for the following periods:

Year ending 30 June 20XX

Year ending 30 June 20XX

Year ending 30 June 20XX

Year ending 30 June 20XX

The scheme commences on:

1 July 20XX

Relevant facts and circumstances

You were born in Australia and are an Australian citizen.

You are not a citizen of any other country.

You travelled to various foreign countries for several years.

You returned to Australia in December 20XX.

You travelled back to Continent X in January 20XX.

You travelled to Continent X and Country X for a holiday, to meet your extended family and to develop friendships.

Australia's borders closed in March 20XX.

Australia's borders reopened in February 20XX.

You plan to return to Australia during the next financial year.

When completing incoming and outgoing passenger cards, you state that you are an Australian resident.

You held visas that allowed you to work in the foreign countries.

You worked intermittently whilst travelling through the countries you visited.

You did not apply for citizenship or permanent residency in any of the countries you travelled to.

You do not have a spouse or any dependants.

Your extended family lives in Australia.

You did not inform the Australian Electoral Commission or Medicare that you were departing Australia as you were not expecting Covid-19 to impact your return travel plans.

You stayed in temporary accommodation whilst travelling through the countries you visited.

Prior to travelling overseas, you were living with your parents in Australia.

Your personal effects remain in the family home.

You have an Australian bank account and own shares in Australia.

You do not own any assets outside of Australia.

You received assistance from family and friends and worked in hospitality positions to help fund your travels.

You are not a Commonwealth of Australia Government employee for superannuation (super) purposes.

You are not a member of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS) which was established under the Superannuation Act 1990.

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1)

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 995-1(1)

Reasons for decision

Question

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,

•         the domicile test,

•         the 183 day test, and

•         the superannuation test.

The primary test for deciding the residency status of an individual is whether they reside 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 resides test

The ordinary meaning of the word 'reside', according to the Macquarie Dictionary, 2001, rev. 3^rd edition, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, NSW, is 'to dwell permanently or for a considerable time; having one's abode for a time', and according to the Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1987), is 'to dwell permanently, or for a considerable time, to have one's settled or usual abode, to live in or at a particular place'. These definitions have been highlighted in cases as being definitive observations of the meaning of resides (see Viscount LC in Levene v Commissioners of Inland Revenue [1928] AC 217 and Logan J in Stockton v Federal Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 1679).

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... [W]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.

Case law decisions have considered the following factors in relation to whether the taxpayer was a resident under the 'resides' test:

•         Physical presence

•         Intention or purpose of presence

•         Family and business/employment ties

•         Maintenance and location of assets, and

•         Social and living arrangements.

These factors are similar to those which the Commissioner has said are relevant in determining the residency status of individuals in Taxation Ruling IT 2650 Residency - Permanent place of abode outside Australia (IT 2650) and Taxation Ruling TR 98/17 Income tax: residency status of individuals entering Australia.

It is important to note that not one single factor is decisive, and the weight given to each factor depends on each individual's circumstances.

We consider that your circumstances were not consistent with you residing in Australia as you had not lived in Australia for several years during the relevant period.

You are not a resident of Australia under this test.

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.

Domicile

Whether your domicile is 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 acquired a domicile of choice elsewhere. To acquire a domicile of choice of a particular country you must be lawfully present there and you must 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.

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 any other country You were not entitled to reside in the countries indefinitely and while living there you only held visas which were valid for short term stays.

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 courts have held that the phrase 'permanent place of abode' calls for a consideration of the town or country where a person is located. 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] FCA 29 held at paragraphs 36 and 40 that key considerations in determining whether a taxpayer has his or her permanent place of abode outside Australia are:

a)    whether the taxpayer has definitely abandoned, in a permanent way, living in Australia; and

b)    whether the taxpayer is living permanently in a specific country.

Paragraph 23 of IT 2650 sets out the following factors which are used by the Commissioner in reaching a state of satisfaction as to a taxpayer's permanent place of abode:

a)     the intended and actual length of the taxpayer's stay in the overseas country;

b)     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;

c)     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;

d)     whether any residence or place of abode exists in Australia or has been abandoned because of the overseas absence;

e)     the duration and continuity of the taxpayer's presence in the overseas country; and

f)      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.

The Commissioner is not satisfied that your permanent place of abode was outside Australia.

This takes into account that you departed Australia to take a holiday, to visit family and develop friendships. You did not have a fixed overseas address; you did not have fixed employment and you did not apply for citizenship or permanent residency in any of the countries that you have travelled to. You intended to return to Australia however experienced difficulties due to Covid-19 border closures.

You did not definitely abandon, in a permanent way, living in Australia and you were not living permanently in a specific country.

You are a resident under this test.

183-day test

Where a person is present in Australia for 183 days during the year of income the person will be a resident, unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the person's usual place of abode is outside Australia, and the person does not intend to take up residence in Australia.

You were not present in Australia for 183 days or more during the relevant income years.

You are not a resident under this test.

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.

You are not a contributing member of 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.

You are not a resident under this test.

Conclusion

You satisfy the domicile test of residency and so are a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the years ended 30 June 20XX, 20XX, 20XX and 20XX.