Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The amounts of * ordinary income and * statutory income covered by the table are exempt from income tax. In some cases, the exemption is subject to exceptions or special conditions, or both.
Note 1: Ordinary and statutory income that is exempt from income tax is called exempt income: see section 6 - 20. The note to subsection 6 - 15(2) describes some of the other consequences of it being exempt income.
Note 2: Even if an exempt payment is made to you, the Commissioner can still require you to lodge an income tax return or information under section 161 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 .
Exempt amounts | |||
Item | If you are: | the following amounts are exempt from income tax: | subject to these exceptions and special conditions: |
1 | (a) a representative in Australia of the government of a foreign country; or (b) a member of the official staff of such a representative; and you are neither an Australian citizen nor ordinarily resident in Australia | (a) your official salary; and (b) your * ordinary income, and your * statutory income, from a source outside Australia | (a) no Convention listed in subsection (2) applies to the representative; and (b) the country concerned grants in relation to Australia exemptions from taxes on income that correspond with the exemption in this item |
2 | (a) an officer of the government of a * Commonwealth of Nations country; and (b) temporarily in Australia to render service on behalf of that country, or an * Australian government agency, in accordance with an * arrangement between the governments of that country and of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory | (a) your official salary; and (b) your * ordinary income, and your * statutory income, from a source outside Australia | that country exempts from income tax the salaries of officers of the government of the Commonwealth temporarily in that country for similar purposes in accordance with a similar arrangement |
(2) The Conventions are:
(a) the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, as having the force of law because of the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1967 ;
(b) the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, as having the force of law because of the Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 1972 .
Note: Those Conventions have the force of law in Australia because of those Acts and achieve substantially the same effect as item 1 of the table: see Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Article 49 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.