Domicile Act 1978 (Vic)

Version No. 023

Domicile Act 1978

No. 9231 of 1978

Version incorporating amendments as at

4 May 2012

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Section  Page

1Short title

2Commencement

3Definitions

4Operation of Act

5Abolition of rule of dependent domicile of married woman

6Abolition of rule of revival of domicile of origin

7Capacity to have independent domicile

8Domicile of certain children

9Intention of domicile of choice

10Domicile in a union

11Evidence of acquisition of domicile of choice

12Repealed

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ENDNOTES

1.  General Information

2.  Table of Amendments

3.  Explanatory Details

Version No. 023

Domicile Act 1978

No. 9231 of 1978

Version incorporating amendments as at

4 May 2012

An Act to abolish the Dependent Domicile of Married Women and otherwise to reform the Law relating to Domicile.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say):

1Short title

This Act may be cited as the Domicile Act 1978.

2Commencement

This Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on 1 July 1982.

3Definitions

In this Act, except so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires—

Commonwealth of Australia means the territory comprising the States and the Australian Capital Territory, the Jervis Bay Territory and the Northern Territory of Australia;

country includes any state, province or other territory—

(a)that is one of two or more territories that together form a country; and

(b)domicile in which can be material for any purpose of the laws of Victoria;

union means any country that is a union or federation or other aggregation of two or more countries and includes the Commonwealth of Australia.

4Operation of Act

(1)The domicile of a person at a time before the commencement of this section shall be determined as if this Act had not been enacted.

(2)The domicile of a person at a time after the commencement of this section shall be determined as if this Act had always been in force.

(3)Nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction of any court in any proceedings commenced before the commencement of this section.

(4)This Act has effect to the exclusion of the application of the laws of any other country relating to any matter dealt with by this Act.

5Abolition of rule of dependent domicile of married woman

The rule of law whereby a married woman has at all times the domicile of her husband is abolished.

6Abolition of rule of revival of domicile of origin

The rule of law whereby the domicile of origin revives upon the abandonment of a domicile of choice without the acquisition of a new domicile of choice is abolished and the domicile a person has at any time continues until he acquires a different domicile.

7Capacity to have independent domicile

(1)A person is capable of having an independent domicile if—

(a)he has attained the age of 18 years; or

(b)he is, or has at any time been, married—

and not otherwise.

(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who, under the rules of law relating to domicile, is incapable of acquiring a domicile by reason of mental incapacity.

8Domicile of certain children

(1)In this section—

(a)child means a person under the age of eighteen years who is not, and has not at any time been, married; and

(b)references to the parents of a child include references to parents who are not married to each other.

(2)Where, at any time, a child has his principal home with one of his parents but his parents are living separately and apart or the child does not have another living parent, the domicile of the child at that time is the domicile that that parent has at that time and thereafter the child has the domicile that that parent has from time to time or, if that parent has died, the domicile that that parent had at the time of death.

(3)Where a child is adopted, his domicile—

(a)if, upon his adoption, he has two parents—is, at the time of the adoption and thereafter, the domicile he would have if he were a child born in wedlock to those parents; and

(b)if, upon his adoption, he has one parent only—is, at the time of the adoption, the domicile of that parent and thereafter is the domicile that that parent has from time to time or, if that parent has died, the domicile that that parent had at the time of death.

(4)A child ceases to have, by virtue of subsection (2), the domicile or last domicile of one of his parents if—

(a)he commences to have his principal home with his other parent; or

(b)his parents resume or commence living together.

(5)Where a child has a domicile by virtue of subsection (2) or (3) immediately before he ceases to be a child, he retains that domicile until he acquires a domicile of choice.

(6)Where the adoption of a child is rescinded, the domicile of the child shall thereafter be determined in accordance with any provisions with respect to that domicile that are included in the order rescinding the adoption and, so far as no such provision is applicable, as if the adoption has not taken place.

9Intention of domicile of choice

The intention that a person must have in order to acquire a domicile of choice in a country is the intention to make his home indefinitely in that country.

10Domicile in a union

A person who is, in accordance with the rules of the common law as modified by this Act, domiciled in a union but is not, apart from this section, domiciled in any particular one of the countries that together form the union is domiciled in that one of those countries with which he has for the time being the closest connexion.

11Evidence of acquisition of domicile of choice

The acquisition of a domicile of choice in place of a domicile of origin may be established by evidence that would be sufficient to establish the domicile of choice if the previous domicile had also been a domicile of choice.

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ENDNOTES

1.     General Information

The Domicile Act 1978 was assented to on 19 December 1978 and came into operation on 1 July 1982: section 2.

2.     Table of Amendments

This Version incorporates amendments made to the Domicile Act 1978 by Acts and subordinate instruments.

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Domicile (Amendment) Act 1982, No. 9780/1982

Assent Date:	28.9.82
Commencement Date:	1.7.82: s. 1(3)
CurrentState:	All of Act in operation

Adoption Act 1984, No. 10150/1984

Assent Date:	13.11.84
Commencement Date:	S. 3(1)(Sch.) on 16.11.87: Government Gazette 28.10.87 p. 2880
CurrentState:	This information relates only to the provisions amending the Domicile Act 1978

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3.     Explanatory Details

No entries at date of publication.