Six Months a Year?

[Banjo]

I think I've posted this before but I'll make a thread.

1. Frequency & duration of the person's travel outside Australia

Taken in isolation, a 3 year continuous absence would be regarded as an upper limit to still being considered residing in Australia, unless there are special circumstances delaying a return. When looking at the pattern and duration of time spent outside Australia, if a person regularly spends more than 6 months a year outside Australia, then their residence in Australia is questionable.

guidesacts.fahcsia.gov.au/guides_acts/ssg/ssguide-3/ssguide-3.1/ssguide-3.1.1/ssguide-3.1.1.10.html

Now this is NOT the sole requirement for residency, if you keep just under the 6 months for several years I would say they will start checking the other 5 requirements.

Determining whether a person is residing in Australia

SSAct section 7(3) lists the factors to be taken into account when deciding whether a person is residing in Australia. These are:

1. The frequency and duration of the person's travel outside Australia.

2. The nature of the accommodation used by the person in Australia.

3. The nature and extent of the family relationships the person has in Australia.

4. The nature and extent of the person's employment, business or financial ties in Australia.

5. The nature and extent of the person's assets located in Australia.

6. Any other matter relevant to determining whether the person intends to remain permanently in Australia.

[macadamianut]

I have only spent about 3 months in Australia over the past 2 years.
Guess I have been very lucky not to have been in trouble over it, but I am not going to spend time away from my family for no reason.
My time overseas is just about up now, family should be living in Australia with me very soon, so hopefully I won't have any grief over the new residency nonsense.

[Banjo]

It's crazy because your first choice would have probably a been a life overseas but you have been forced into a decision that will cost the taxpayer many times your original single pension.