Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 1991 No. 46, 1991 - SECT 7

7. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"Australian resident" has the meaning given by subsection (2);

"qualifying Australian residence" has the meaning given by subsection (5).

(2) An Australian resident is a person who:

   (a)  resides in Australia; and

   (b)  is one of the following:

        (i)    an Australian citizen;

        (ii)   a person who is, within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958,
               the holder of a valid permanent entry permit;

        (iii)  a person who has been granted, or who is included in, a return
               endorsement, or a resident return visa, in force under that
               Act;

        (iv)   a person who:

                (A)  is, for the purposes of that Act, an exempt non-citizen;
                     and

                (B)  is likely to remain permanently in Australia.
Note: "exempt non-citizen" is defined in section 5 of the Migration Act 1958:
it covers non-citizens who are diplomats, members of armed forces, ships' crew
members and others and, under section 7 of the Act, exempt non-citizens do not
need an entry permit or entry visa to enter Australia.

(3) In deciding for the purposes of this Act whether or not a person is
residing in Australia, regard must be had to:

   (a)  the nature of the accommodation used by the person in Australia; and

   (b)  the nature and extent of the family relationships the person has in
        Australia; and

   (c)  the nature and extent of the person's employment, business or
        financial ties with Australia; and

   (d)  the nature and extent of the person's property located in Australia;
        and

   (e)  the frequency and duration of the person's travel outside Australia;
        and

   (f)  any other matter relevant to determining whether the person intends to
        remain permanently in Australia.

(4) For the purposes of:

   (a)  Part 2.2 (age pension); and

   (b)  Part 2.3 (invalid pension); and

   (c)  Part 2.4 (wife pension); and

   (d)  Part 2.5 (carer pension); and

   (e)  Part 2.6 (sole parent pension); and

   (f)  Part 2.7 (widowed person allowance); and

   (g)  Part 2.8 (widow B pension); continuity of residence of a claimant in
        Australia is not to be taken to have been interrupted by absence of
        the claimant in an external Territory.

(5) A person has 10 years qualifying Australian residence if and only if:

   (a)  the person has, at any time, been an Australian resident for a
        continuous period of not less than 10 years; or

   (b)  the person has been an Australian resident during more than one period
        and:

   (i)  at least one of those periods is 5 years or more; and

   (ii) the aggregate of those periods exceeds 10 years.

(6) In determining whether a person has 10 years qualifying residence for the
purposes of:

   (a)  Division 1 of Part 2.2 (age pension); and

   (b)  Division 1 of Part 2.3 (invalid pension); residence in an
        external Territory (other than Norfolk Island) is to be taken to be
        residence in Australia.

(7) In section 1220, a reference to a person who was formerly an Australian
resident and who again becomes an Australian resident includes a reference to
a person who:

   (a)  formerly resided in an area that was, at the time of the residence, an
        external Territory; and

   (b)  has never resided in Australia; and

   (c)  has arrived in Australia.