What’s the definition of a de facto relationship?
How long, for family law purposes, do a couple have to be together to be in a legally defined De Facto relationship?
Section 4AA of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) provides the definition of a de facto relationship for family law purposes.
Generally, the courts will consider a couple as being in a de facto relationship if any or a variety of the following factors are applicable:
- You lived together as a couple for at least 2 years
- There is a child from the relationship
- You or your ex-partner made substantial contributions (financial or otherwise) to the relationship
- The two of you acquired, owned and used a property together
- There is or was a sexual relationship; or
- You presented to family and friends as a couple.
The relevance of a declaration that parties were in a de facto relationship means they fall within the jurisdiction of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) to seek Orders of the Court for the adjustment of property interest and/or spousal maintenance.
In the 2021 case of Bahan & Pinder, a woman asked the court to settle a property dispute with a man she called her former partner.
The man insisted that while he considered the woman his “girlfriend” they did not live together on a genuine domestic basis to satisfy the Court’s definition of a de facto relationship.
The woman told the Court they were together from March 2012 until June 2019. The couple hit a rough patch in 2014 when she admitted to having a “sexual encounter” with someone else, however they did not split up at the time.
The parties separated for a few months in 2016, when the woman found out he had been “secretly seeing and having sex with her best friend”.
The man purchased the property at the heart of the dispute, with the financial help of the woman’s father, and the couple lived there together. While he was away on Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) work, the woman remained at the home working part time, while also undertaking housework.
They maintained separate bank accounts, but did share joint expenses.
The pair had socialised together and presented to friends and family as a couple.The court found there had been “prolific and frequent communications between the couple” during the man’s time as a FIFO worker, “relating to normal issues arising in day-to-day life when persons share a domestic life”.
The judge said although the couple had “tumultuous periods involving infidelity and short separations, they persisted together as a couple”.
As the court had ruled the pair had indeed been in a de facto relationship, the property matter went ahead.
If you’re unsure about the legal status of your relationship, get in touch Michael Lynch Family Lawyers on: (07) 3221 4300 or email: [email protected] Our family law specialists can advise you on everything related to separation and property settlement.
