Individual Residency

When are individuals "resident" according to the Australian Tax Authorities?

Residency for tax purposes does not necessarily tie up with visa residency and indeed even citizenship. There are no black and white rules to tax residency, but generally individuals are deemed “residents” if they are domiciled in Australia. Domicile is not a statutory definition as in the UK, but more a question of fact. Factors determining domicile include where the individual regards home, where the family are, where children are and where the bulk of time is spent.

Generally the Australian Tax authorities establish residency by considering a number of factors. On the whole an individual is considered a resident if they have a permanent home in Australia. Permanent need not mean everlasting, but must be more than merely temporary or transitory. Additional factors include:

• Intention and purpose of presence.
• Family and business/employment ties.
• Maintenance and location of assets.
• Social and living arrangements.

The commissioner of Taxation's view also considers that where the individual has been in Australia for longer than 6 months, a consistent, settled, habitual pattern of behaviour can be indicative of residency and residency is applied from the start of such behaviour.