Domicile Act 1981 (WA)

Western Australia

Domicile Act 1981

Reprinted under the Reprints Act 1984 as at 8 May 2015

Western Australia

Domicile Act 1981 Contents[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>&#160;</span>TOC \t &#34;Heading 2,2,yScheduleHeading,2,yHeading 2,2,zHeading 2,3,zyScheduleHeading,3,zyHeading 2,3,Heading 3,4,yHeading 3,4,zHeading 3,5,zyHeading 3,5,Heading 4,6,yHeading 4,6,zHeading 4,7,zyHeading 4,7,Heading 5,8,yHeading 5,8,zHeading 5,9,zyHeading 5,9&#34; \t &#34;nHeading 2,2,nHeading 3,8&#34; \n &#34;2-7&#34; \w \* MERGEFORMAT <span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span><![endif] — Short title2 — Commencement3 — Terms used4 — Operation of Act5 — Abolition of rule of dependent domicile of married woman6 — Abolition of rule of revival of domicile of origin7 — Capacity to have independent domicile8 — Domicile of certain children9 — Intention for domicile of choice10 — Domicile in union11 — Evidence of acquisition of domicile of choiceNotesCompilation table 5Defined terms

Reprinted under the Reprints Act 1984 as at 8 May 2015

Western Australia

Domicile Act 1981

Domicile Act 1981

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

1.Short title

This Act may be cited as the Domicile Act 1981 1.

2.Commencement

This Act shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation 1.

3.Terms used

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears — 

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 2 or more territories that together form a country; and

• (b)

  domicile in which can be material for any purpose of the laws of Western Australia;

subsection means subsection of the section in which the term is used;

union means any country that is a union or federation or other aggregation of 2 or more countries and includes the Commonwealth of Australia.

4.Operation of Act

• (1)

  The domicile of a person at a time before the coming into operation 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 coming into operation 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 coming into operation 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.

5.Abolition 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.

6.Abolition 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.

7.Capacity 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.

8.Domicile of certain children

• (1)

  In this section — 

  • (a)

    child means a person under the age of 18 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 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, 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 had not taken place.

9.Intention for 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.

10.Domicile in 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 connection.

11.Evidence 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.

Notes

1          This reprint is a compilation as at 8 May 2015 of the Domicile Act 1981. The following table contains information about that Act. The table also contains information about any reprint.

Compilation table

Short title	Number and year	Assent	Commencement
Domicile Act 1981	91 of 1981	26 Nov 1981	1 Jul 1982 (see s. 2 and Gazette 25 Jun 1982 p. 2114)
Reprint of the Domicile Act 1981 as at 2 Aug 2002
Reprint 2: The Domicile Act 1981 as at 8 May 2015

Defined terms

[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]

Defined term Provision(s)

child........................................................................................................................... 8(1)(a)

Commonwealth of Australia............................................................................................ 3

country............................................................................................................................... 3

subsection......................................................................................................................... 3

union................................................................................................................................... 3