Justen Nixon successfully appeared for the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue in Zhang v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] NSWCATAD 258.

The decision considers the principal place of residence exemption in s 5B of the Land Tax Act 1956 (NSW) and the Chief Commissioner’s discretion to waive the requirement that a permanent resident continuously occupy land for a period of 200 days in order to satisfy the exemption.

The decision provides helpful guidance on the meaning of “exceptional circumstances” and “brief physical absence from Australia” and the type of evidence that would be needed to establish these requirements.

A copy of the decision can be found here.