Am I an Australian tax resident? The short answer
Australia applies four separate tests under section 6(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, and you only need to satisfy one to be a resident: the resides test, the domicile test, the 183-day test, and the Commonwealth superannuation test. None ranks above another in legal effect — each is a complete route to residency on its own.
What makes Australia unusual is that the primary test, the resides test, is not a day count or a bright-line rule. It weighs the facts of your life — family, home, employment, assets, social ties and intentions — and where those facts sit in the middle range, the honest answer is that the outcome is genuinely arguable rather than something a calculator can resolve.
Interactive test
Check your Australia residence position
Answer the questions below to see where you stand and, just as importantly, which part of the test decided it. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere unless you choose to contact us.
- Day count
- Commonwealth superannuation test
- Domicile test
- Resides test
Stage 1 of 4 · Day count
Reform pending — not yet law
A statutory residency framework announced in the 2021–22 Federal Budget would introduce a 183-day bright-line test plus a secondary test for those present 45–182 days. As at July 2026 it has not been legislated, and neither its start date nor its final design is confirmed. This tool assesses the law currently in force. Do not plan a relocation on the assumption the reform will apply.
Day count
How many days were you present in Australia during the income year?
The Australian income year runs from 1 July to 30 June, not the calendar year.
The four tests and how they interact
None of the four tests needs to be met in combination — though in practice the resides test is the one most people fall back on once the other three are ruled out.
| Test | What it asks | Nature of the test |
|---|---|---|
| Resides (ordinary concepts) | Do you live in Australia in the ordinary sense, weighing family, home, work, assets, social ties and intention? | Multi-factor judgement, no statutory threshold |
| Domicile | Is your domicile Australia, and is the Commissioner satisfied your permanent place of abode is outside it? | Legal domicile plus a permanent-abode carve-out |
| 183-day | Were you present more than half the income year, without a usual abode abroad and no intention to reside? | Day count with a two-part exception |
| Commonwealth superannuation | Are you a contributing member of the CSS or PSS? | Membership test, overrides all others |
The Australian income year runs from 1 July to 30 June, not the calendar year most other jurisdictions use. Anyone comparing an Australian day count against a test elsewhere needs to line up the two periods carefully, because they rarely match.
The resides test: a judgement, not a checklist
The resides test decides most borderline cases once the other statutory routes are out of play. It asks a single question in ordinary language — do you reside in Australia — and answers it by weighing six connections: family, whether you maintain a home here, where your employment or business is based, where a significant part of your assets sits, your social and living arrangements, and whether you intend to remain indefinitely rather than for a defined period.
No single factor is decisive, and there is no statutory threshold that converts a count of factors into a verdict. Someone with strong connections across most of these categories will usually be found to reside in Australia notwithstanding a modest day count, particularly where family, home and employment all point the same way. Someone with only one or two connections is in territory the law does not resolve with certainty — the position could reasonably be argued either way, and that is a genuine feature of the test, not a gap in anyone's analysis.
Cases sitting in the middle are also the ones the ATO most often challenges and the ones that reach the tribunals. Where the stakes are meaningful, a private ruling from the ATO is the only way to convert an arguable position into a certain one. Absent that, contemporaneous evidence of the factors pointing away from residence — records made at the time — is the next best protection.
The domicile test and permanent place of abode
The domicile test starts from your legal domicile — usually your country of origin unless you take deliberate steps to establish a domicile of choice elsewhere. Australian citizens who move abroad frequently retain their Australian domicile by default, so this test catches more people than the phrase suggests.
Holding an Australian domicile makes you resident unless the Commissioner is satisfied your permanent place of abode is outside Australia — a threshold that requires considerably more than simply living overseas. The Commissioner looks at the intended and actual duration of your stay abroad, whether you have genuinely abandoned your Australian residence rather than merely left it vacant, and the durability of your association with the overseas location. A fixed-term posting where a home is kept available for you in Australia will usually fail this test, however many years it runs, because the arrangement signals an intention to return.
The 183-day test
Where you are present in Australia for more than half the income year — more than 182 days — you are resident under this test, unless two things are both true: your usual place of abode is outside Australia, and you have no intention of taking up residence here. Meeting only one of the two leaves the day-count test intact.
Spending fewer than 183 days in Australia does not itself confirm non-residency — it only means this test is not engaged, and the resides, domicile and Commonwealth superannuation tests remain live.
The Commonwealth superannuation test
The narrowest of the four tests, and also the most absolute. Contributing membership of the CSS or PSS — the Commonwealth public sector superannuation schemes, not ordinary Australian super funds — makes you an Australian tax resident outright, regardless of where you live or how weak your other connections are. Day count, domicile and your pattern of life are all irrelevant while the membership subsists, and the test also extends to the spouse and children under 16 of a covered member.
Because it is so narrow, it is also easy to overlook, and it is one of the more commonly missed routes into Australian residency for people who have stopped thinking about their superannuation membership at all.
The proposed statutory residency framework: not yet law
A reform announced in the 2021–22 Federal Budget would replace the current four-test framework with a 183-day bright-line test, plus a secondary test for people present 45–182 days. As at July 2026 it has not been legislated, and neither its start date nor its final design is confirmed.
This page and the interactive tool assess the law as it currently stands — the four tests set out above — and do not model the proposed framework. Do not plan a relocation to or from Australia on the assumption that the reform will apply by the time you move, or that its final design will match the 2021–22 Budget outline. Treat it as a direction of travel, not a rule you can rely on today.
What Australian residency means for your tax
Australian tax residents are taxable on worldwide income, receive the tax-free threshold, and are subject to the Medicare levy; foreign income is assessable with offsets available for tax already paid abroad. Residents also fall within Australian capital gains tax on worldwide assets, not just Australian ones.
Foreign residents are taxable only on Australian-source income, taxed from the first dollar with no tax-free threshold, though not liable to the Medicare levy. Australian CGT still applies to taxable Australian property, principally real property and interests in land-rich entities, and Australian-sourced interest, dividends and royalties generally attract final withholding tax. Foreign residents also lose the CGT main residence exemption on Australian property, with only very limited transitional relief — selling a former home after becoming non-resident can be materially more expensive than selling before you leave.
Residency need not hold for the whole income year: it can begin or end part-way through, and the ATO apportions on a part-year basis. Ceasing residency also triggers CGT event I1, a deemed disposal of assets that are not taxable Australian property, calculated as though you sold them on the date residency ended. You can elect to defer this, keeping those assets within the Australian CGT net indefinitely instead — a significant, largely irreversible choice best made before the departure date, not worked out afterwards.
Compliance caveat
The resides test is a multi-factor judgement with no statutory threshold, and results in the middle range are genuinely arguable rather than resolvable by any tool, including this one. This page does not assess the proposed statutory framework outlined above, temporary resident concessions, treaty tie-breakers, or the mechanics of a CGT event I1 deferral election. Always confirm your position with a registered Australian tax agent.
How Global Investments can help
Australian residency turns on judgement as much as day count, and ceasing residency triggers a deemed CGT disposal that is expensive to get wrong. Our advisers work with clients across more than 60 countries to review residency positions before they crystallise, assess whether a private ruling is worthwhile on a borderline resides-test case, and coordinate with Australian tax specialists on the CGT event I1 election before a departure date is fixed.
Frequently asked questions
How many days can I spend in Australia without becoming tax resident?
There is no safe day count on its own. Spending more than 182 days in an income year makes you resident under the 183-day test unless your usual place of abode is outside Australia and you have no intention of taking up residence here. But the resides, domicile and Commonwealth superannuation tests operate independently of days, so a low day count is no assurance of non-resident status if your other connections remain strong.
What is the resides test and why is it so uncertain?
The resides test asks whether you live in Australia in the ordinary sense, weighing factors such as family, home, employment, assets, social ties and your intention to remain. No single factor is decisive and there is no statutory threshold, so outcomes in the middle range are genuinely arguable rather than simply unclear. A private ruling from the ATO is the only way to obtain certainty on a borderline position.
Does keeping my Australian domicile make me a tax resident automatically?
Not automatically, but it puts the burden on you. Under the domicile test, having an Australian domicile makes you resident unless the Commissioner is satisfied your permanent place of abode is outside Australia. Australian citizens who move overseas typically retain their Australian domicile unless they take deliberate steps to establish a domicile of choice elsewhere, so this test catches more people than they expect.
What counts as a permanent place of abode outside Australia?
It requires considerably more than simply living overseas for a period. The Commissioner examines the intended and actual duration of your stay, whether you have abandoned your Australian residence, and the durability of your association with the overseas location. A fixed-term posting where you keep a home available in Australia will usually fail this test, even after several years abroad.
What happens to my superannuation if I am a member of the CSS or PSS?
Contributing membership of the CSS or PSS Commonwealth superannuation schemes makes you an Australian tax resident outright, regardless of where you live or how few days you spend in Australia. This overrides the other three tests entirely, and it also extends to the spouse and children under 16 of a covered member. It is one of the most commonly overlooked routes into Australian residency for people living overseas long-term.
What happens to my capital gains tax position when I stop being an Australian resident?
Ceasing residency triggers CGT event I1, a deemed disposal of assets that are not taxable Australian property, calculated as if you had sold them on the date you stopped being resident. You can elect to defer this, which keeps those assets within the Australian CGT net indefinitely instead. This is a significant and largely irreversible decision that should be taken before your departure date, not after.
Is the interactive test on this page a substitute for advice?
No. It applies the four statutory tests to the answers you give and explains the reasoning, which is enough to understand your likely position and where it is finely balanced. It does not assess the proposed statutory residency framework, temporary resident concessions, or double tax treaty tie-breakers, and it is not a substitute for advice from a registered Australian tax agent.
This guide is general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Tax residence rules change and individual circumstances vary. Always seek advice from a qualified adviser in the relevant jurisdiction before acting.