TR 2023/1 and the Evidence-Led Approach to Residency

Taxation Ruling TR 2023/1 sets out the Commissioner’s view on the ordinary concepts, domicile and 183-day residency tests. It replaced older rulings and reflects modern mobility, including frequent travel and complex work arrangements.

The ruling does not create a checklist under which a certain number of factors guarantees residency or non-residency. It organises the inquiry around the quality and continuity of the person’s associations with Australia and overseas.

The resides test is holistic

Relevant considerations include physical presence, intention or purpose, family and business or employment ties, maintenance and location of assets, and social and living arrangements. The weight of each factor varies.

A short stay can be part of a settled Australian life, while a longer stay can remain temporary. The surrounding pattern and purpose matter.

Departure cases

Leaving on a one-way ticket is evidence but not decisive. The analysis should examine overseas accommodation, family movement, employment, possessions, Australian home arrangements, return travel, immigration status and whether conduct shows abandonment of Australian residence.

The date of cessation can be later than departure where the arrangements remain transitional, or coincide with departure where a sufficiently settled overseas life begins then.

Arrival cases

A person can become resident before obtaining permanent migration status if the pattern of living is sufficiently settled. Conversely, a person present for work may remain a visitor where home and life remain established overseas.

Accommodation quality, duration and control matter, but a leased or serviced property can still be a home.

Intentions must be tested against conduct

Contemporaneous evidence is generally stronger than a later recollection. Employment contracts, leases, school enrolments, shipping records, property listings, travel bookings and communications can corroborate the claimed purpose.

Plans can change. The file should identify the point at which conduct changed rather than forcing the entire year into one original intention.

The ruling and case law

TR 2023/1 is the Commissioner’s published view, not legislation. Courts determine the law, and the ruling should be read with the statutory tests and relevant authorities. Facts that differ from examples can produce a different result.

Practical takeaway

Use TR 2023/1 as an analytical framework: build a dated fact matrix, evaluate competing indicators, identify the strongest objective evidence and state the reasoning—not merely the conclusion.

Official sources and further reading

• Australian Taxation Office: TR 2023/1 – Income tax: residency tests for individuals
• Australian Taxation Office: Your tax residency
• Australian Taxation Office: Living overseas and becoming a foreign tax resident

TAX RESIDENCY