Gurney and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the residency status of the applicant for Australian income tax purposes. The dispute concerned whether the applicant was an Australian resident during the period between his arrival in Australia on 28 February 2016 and his departure in November 2016.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had established a "residence" in Australia for the purposes of Australian tax law. This involved assessing the applicant's intention and the objective facts surrounding his presence in Australia during the relevant period, particularly in light of his UK citizenship and prior living arrangements.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's circumstances were distinct from those in comparable cases such as *Addy* and *MacKinnon*. Unlike those cases, the applicant had disposed of most of his assets in the UK, his accommodation in Australia was of a more permanent nature, and his employment activities were consistent with career advancement. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had arrived in Australia with the intention and expectation to live there indefinitely, even though his initial visa was a working holiday visa. This intention persisted until it became clear he could not achieve his objectives. Therefore, the Tribunal determined that the applicant was a resident of Australia for tax purposes during the period in question.