Willard and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

This matter concerned an appeal by the Applicant, an Australian resident for tax purposes, against a decision of the Commissioner of Taxation. The Applicant sought to claim an exemption for foreign earnings under section 23AG of the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1936* (Cth) for the income year ended 30 June 2017. The Applicant had been seconded to the Papua New Guinea Customs Service as part of the Strongim Gavman Program, a whole-of-government initiative to provide capacity development assistance to PNG government agencies.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the Applicant's continuous period of foreign service was directly attributable to his deployment as a member of a "disciplined force" as defined in section 23AG(1AA)(d) of the Act, and whether section 23AG(2) disqualified him from claiming any exemption. The Applicant contended that his role within the Australian Border Force (ABF), from which he was seconded, constituted being part of a disciplined force.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant's foreign earnings were not exempt from tax under section 23AG(1). Consequently, it was unnecessary to consider the application of section 23AG(2) or to quantify any potential exempt amount. The Tribunal affirmed the Reviewable Decision of the Commissioner of Taxation.