De facto law Jurisdiction
With the Federal Family Law Act de facto property legislation having been only recently introduced, there are some transitional issues which may affect some de facto couples. The relevant situations that are not covered by the Act are:-
- De facto couples who separated before 1 March 2009 (any couples separated before this time will also face issues with the two year time limit for commencing property proceedings following a de facto separation);
- Parties who are currently residents of South Australia or Western Australia, as those states have not referred their powers to the Commonwealth and are therefore not covered by the 2009 amendments;
- Couples who resided in South Australia, Western Australia or outside of Australia for more than two-thirds of the period of the de facto relationship.
Even if you do not qualify for the new Family Law Act de facto provisions, there will generally be alternative de facto property jurisdictions where you can resolve your matter. LAC Lawyers can advise whether any of these jurisdictional issues will impact on your matter in any way.
If you have an existing financial agreement that precedes the 2009 amendments to the Family Law Act, generally prior agreements complying with the state-based systems in place at that time will be recognised. However, you should seek legal advice if you wish to enforce a pre-2009, South Australian or Western Australian de facto property agreement.
