Domicile Act 1980 (TAS)

Domicile Act 1980

An Act to abolish the dependent domicile of married women and otherwise to reform the law relating to domicile

[Royal Assent 2 September 1980]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Domicile Act 1980 . 2Commencement (1)  This section and section 1 shall commence on the date of assent to this Act. (2)  Except as provided in subsection (1) , this Act shall commence on such date as may be fixed by proclamation. 3InterpretationIn this Act, except in 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 this State; 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 a matter dealt with by this Act. 5Abolition of rule of dependent domicile of married womanThe 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 originThe rule of law whereby the domicile of origin revives on 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)  [Section 8 Subsection (1) substituted by No. 31 of 2012, s. 6, Applied:01 May 2013] In this section – child means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years and who is not, and has not at any time been, married; parents, in relation to a child, includes parents who are not married to each other; surrogate child means a person – (a) who becomes a child of a person by virtue of section 26(1) of the Surrogacy Act 2012 or a law, of another State or a Territory or a foreign country, that corresponds to that Act; and (b) who has not ceased to be a child of the person under that Act or law. (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, on his adoption, he has 2 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, on 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 after that rescission 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 had not taken place. (7)  [Section 8 Subsection (7) inserted by No. 31 of 2012, s. 6, Applied:01 May 2013] A surrogate child’s domicile – (a) is, if he or she has 2 parents immediately after becoming a surrogate child, the domicile the child would have if he or she were a child born in wedlock to those parents; and (b) is, if he or she has one parent only immediately after becoming a surrogate child, the domicile of that parent and, after that time, the domicile of that parent from time to time or, if that parent has died, the domicile that that parent had at the time of death. (8)  [Section 8 Subsection (8) inserted by No. 31 of 2012, s. 6, Applied:01 May 2013] If a child has a domicile by virtue of subsection (7) immediately before he or she ceases to be a child, he or she retains that domicile until he or she acquires a domicile of choice. (9)  [Section 8 Subsection (9) inserted by No. 31 of 2012, s. 6, Applied:01 May 2013] If a child ceases to be a surrogate child, the child’s domicile is to be determined in accordance with the provisions, if any, of the court order by which the child ceases to be a surrogate child or, if there are no such provisions, as if the child had never been a surrogate child. 9Intention for domicile of choiceThe 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 unionA 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 connection. 11Evidence of acquisition of domicile of choiceThe 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.