# Determination of time for sections 201 and 202

> act-s204 — as in force on 2026-06-04 — C2026C00232 · Compilation No. 171 — https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026C00232/latest/text

204 Determination of time for sections 201 and 202
          (1) Where a person has been convicted of any offence (other than an
              offence the conviction in respect of which was subsequently
              quashed) the period (if any) for which the person was confined in a
              prison for that offence shall be disregarded in determining, for the
              purposes of section 201 and subsection 202(1), the length of time
              that that person has been present in Australia as a permanent
              resident or as an exempt non-citizen or a special category visa
              holder.
          (2) In section 201 and subsection 202(1):
               permanent resident means a person (including an Australian
               citizen) whose continued presence in Australia is not subject to any
               limitation as to time imposed by law, but does not include:








                 (a) in relation to any period before 2 April 1984—a person who
                     was, during that period, a prohibited immigrant within the
                     meaning of this Act as in force at that time; or
                 (b) in relation to any period starting on or after 2 April 1984 and
                     ending on or before 19 December 1989—the person who
                     was, during that period, a prohibited non-citizen within the
                     meaning of this Act as in force in that period; or
                 (c) in relation to any period starting on or after 20 December
                     1989 and ending before the commencement of section 7 of
                     the Migration Reform Act 1992—the person who was, during
                     that period, an illegal entrant within the meaning of this Act
                     as in force in that period; or
                 (d) in relation to any later period—the person who is, during that
                     later period, an unlawful non-citizen.
          (3) For the purposes of this section:
               (a) a reference to a prison includes a reference to any custodial
                    institution at which a person convicted of an offence may be
                    required to serve the whole or a part of any sentence imposed
                    upon him or her by reason of that conviction; and
               (b) a reference to a period during which a person was confined in
                    a prison includes a reference to a period:
                      (i) during which the person was an escapee from a prison;
                          or
                     (ii) during which the person was undergoing a sentence of
                          periodic detention in a prison.