De facto relationships.
What are my rights, entitlements and obligations?
In Australia, for the most part, married and de facto couples have the same rights, entitlements and obligations regarding property, maintenance and parenting matters.
With respect to property matters, applications must be made within 2 years from the date of separation.
What constitutes a de facto relationship?
The Court takes into consideration various factors in determining whether a de facto relationship exists and this may be different for each individual couple.
The Court will look at factors such as:
the length of the relationship;
whether you have a sexual relationship;
if you have children together;
your financial circumstances;
whether you have any property or assets together;
the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life; and
whether you appear to your family and friends to be in a genuine relationship.