Key Documents
The Government is consulting on a new, modernised individual tax residency framework based on recommendations made by the Board of Taxation in its 2019 report Individual Tax Residency Rules – a model for modernisation. This measure was announced by the former Government in the 2021‑22 Budget.
Under the Board’s proposed model, the primary test will be a simple ‘bright line’ test — a person who is physically present in Australia for 183 days or more in any income year will be an Australian tax resident. Individuals who do not meet the primary test will be subject to secondary tests that depend on a combination of physical presence and measurable, objective criteria.
The objective of the consultation process is to inform the development of robust principles that will underpin an enduring framework and achieve the policy intent. The outcomes of consultation will help to inform the Government’s decision on whether to proceed with this measure.
The details of the framework outlined in the paper have not received government approval and are not yet law. Consequently, the paper is merely a guide as to how the framework might operate.