Family Violence Act 2016

In section 9:

relative, of a person—

means the person’s—

father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, father-in-law or mother-in-law; or

son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law; or

brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law; or

uncle, aunt, uncle-in-law or aunt-in-law; or

nephew, niece or cousin; and

if the person has or had a domestic partner (other than a spouse or civil union partner)—includes someone who would have been a relative mentioned in paragraph (a) if the person had been married to or in a civil union with the domestic partner; and

Note For ACT law, a person acquires relatives through civil union in the same way as they acquire them through marriage (see Civil Unions Act 2012, s 6 (2)).

includes—

someone who has been a relative mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of the person; and

if the person is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, the following people:

someone the person has responsibility for, or an interest in, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the person’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community;

someone who has responsibility for, or an interest in, the person in accordance with the traditions and customs of the person’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community; and

someone regarded and treated by the person as a relative; and

someone with whom the person has a family-like relationship; and

anyone else who could reasonably be considered to be, or have been, a relative of the person.

For subsection (1) (c) (iv), factors that indicate whether there is a family-like relationship between 2 people include, but are not limited to, the following:

the extent to which each is personally dependent on the other;

the extent to which each is financially dependent on the other (including any arrangements for financial support);

the length of the relationship;

the frequency of contact between each other;

the extent to which each is involved in, or knows about, the other’s personal life;

if the people live together or relate together in a home environment;

if the relationship is regarded as being family-like by the community in which each live.

Example a relationship between a person with disability and the person’s carer that has developed into a relationship that is like that between family members

In this section:

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person means a person who—

is a descendant of an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person; and

identifies as an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person; and

is accepted as an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person by an Aboriginal community or Torres Strait Islander community.

Division 2.3 Other important matters