Residing in Australia

Last amended: 16 January 2024

Overview

In order to establish residency, it must first be decided if a person is an Australian resident. The first criteria for being an Australian resident is for a person to reside in Australia. Below are details of what constitutes a person who can be considered to “reside in Australia”.    

Definition

A person is accepted as residing in Australia if:

• the person is in Australia; and
• the decision maker considers it is the person's intention to establish a home in Australia (in contrast to being a visitor).

Factors to be considered

The decision as to whether a person is residing in Australia must be based on the balance of all the available evidence. No single factor should be taken to be conclusive on its own and some factors will usually provide a greater indication than others, however in the majority of cases the most weight should be given to the time spent in Australia. In general, it is also expected that a person who resides in Australia will be able to demonstrate strong ties to Australia under a number of different criteria listed in VEA section 5G(1A).

The factors that are to be taken into consideration include:

• the frequency and duration of the person's travel outside Australia;
• the nature of the accommodation used by the person in Australia;
• the nature and extent of the family relationships the person has in Australia;
• the nature and extent of the person's employment, business or financial ties in Australia;
• the nature and extent of the person's assets located in Australia, and
• any other matter relevant to determining whether the person intends to remain permanently in Australia.

A person does not need to be continuously present in Australia in order to be residing here. A person holidaying, or working temporarily, overseas does not necessarily cease to reside in Australia while they are away. Generally, a person who regularly spends more time overseas than in Australia would not usually be considered to be residing in Australia.

Note: It is necessary to find the reason for being overseas and to look closely at the pattern and duration of time spent outside Australia in order to ascertain whether a person continues to reside in Australia. For Australian residence to be maintained during an absence, a person must demonstrate continued physical ties to Australia, the absence must be for a short duration, there must be a purpose for the absence and there must be a proposed end date for the absence.

Note: The purpose of an overseas absence may indicate whether a person continues to reside in Australia. The reason should be consistent with the intended length of the absence. For example, a person working on an 18-month overseas contract posting would still be considered to reside in Australia as long as they have demonstrated ongoing physical ties to Australia and a commitment to return to Australia at the end of the posting.

Short-term Residence

In all cases, the applicant must be in Australia on a permanent basis. The VEA prohibits portability of pension where a claim is based on short-term residence.     

Refer to CLIK Policy Library 11.4 for further information relating to Portability of Pensions and Allowances

Refer to CLIK Policy Library 3.5.2 for information relating to required periods of Residency