s 1Purpose

The purpose of this Act is—

S. 1(a) amended by No. 4/2009 s. 4(a).

(a)

to establish a relationships register in Victoria for the registration of domestic relationships and caring relationships;

(b)

to provide for relationship agreements;

(c)

to provide for adjustment of property interests between domestic partners and the rights of domestic partners to maintenance;

S. 1(ca) inserted by No. 4/2009 s. 4(b).

(ca)

to provide for adjustment of property interests between caring partners who are in, or have been in, a registered caring relationship and the rights to maintenance of caring partners who are in, or have been in, a registered caring relationship;

(d)

to repeal Part IX of the Property Law Act 1958 and make consequential amendments to other Acts.

s 2Commencement

(1)

Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act (including the items in Schedule 1) comes into operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.

(2)

If a provision of this Act (including an item or provision of an item in Schedule 1 other than items 25 and 69) does not come into operation before 1 December 2008, it comes into operation on that day.

(3)

If item 25 or 69 or a provision of item 25 or 69 in Schedule 1 does not come into operation before 1 July 2009, it comes into operation on that day.

s 3Definitions

In this Act—

adult person means a person who is 18 years of age or more;

S. 3 def. of legal practitioner amended by No. 17/2014 s. 160(Sch. 2 item 84).

legal practitioner means an Australian legal practitioner;

S. 3 def. of registered caring relationship inserted by No. 4/2009 s. 5(a).

registered caring relationship means a relationship between two persons that is registered under section 10(3)(ab);

S. 3 def. of registered domestic relationship inserted by No. 4/2009 s. 5(a).

registered domestic relationship means a relationship between two persons that is registered under section 10(3)(a);

S. 3 def. of registered relationship substituted by No. 4/2009 s. 5(b).

registered relationship means—

(a)

a registered domestic relationship; or

(b)

a registered caring relationship;

relationship agreement has the meaning given in section 35(1).

S. 3A inserted by No. 4/2016 s. 4.

s 3AMeaning of related by family

(1)

For the purposes of this Act, two adult persons are related by family, if—

(a)

one is the child of the other, including an adopted child; or

(b)

one is another descendant of the other, even if the relationship between them is traced through an adoptive parent; or

(c)

the persons have a parent in common, including an adoptive parent of either or of both of the persons.

(2)

Subsection (1) applies—

(a)

even if an adoption has been declared void or is of no effect; and

(b)

to an adoption under any law of a State, a Territory or another country relating to the adoption of children.

(3)

Subsection (1) applies in relation to a child whose parentage is transferred as a result of an order, in the same way as it applies in relation to an adopted child, even if the parentage order is discharged or otherwise ceases to have effect if the order is—

(a)

a substitute parentage order, or a corresponding surrogacy parentage order within the meaning of the Status of Children Act 1974; or

(b)

an order under the law of another country in respect of the transfer of the parentage of a child.

Chapter 2 (Heading) amended by No. 4/2009 s. 6.

s 4Purpose

The purpose of this Chapter is to establish a relationships register in Victoria for the registration of domestic relationships or caring relationships.

s 5Definitions

In this Chapter—

S. 5 def. of legal practitioner's certificate inserted by No. 4/2009 s. 8(a).

legal practitioner's certificate means a certificate given by a legal practitioner in accordance with section 7(ba);

S. 5 def. of registrable caring relationship inserted by No. 4/2009 s. 8(a).

registrable caring relationship means a relationship (other than a registered relationship) between two adult persons who are not a couple or married to each other and who may or may not otherwise be related by family where one or each of the persons in the relationship provides personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic nature for the material benefit of the other, whether or not they are living under the same roof, but does not include a relationship in which a person provides domestic support and personal care to the other person—

(a)

for fee or reward; or

(b)

on behalf of another person or an organisation (including a government agency, a body corporate or a charitable or benevolent organisation);

registrable information means information that must or may be included in the Relationships Register;

S. 5 def. of registrable relationship amended as registrable domestic relationship by No. 4/2009 s. 8(b).

registrable domestic relationship means a relationship (other than a registered relationship) between two adult persons who are not married to each other but are a couple where one or each of the persons in the relationship provides personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic nature for the material benefit of the other, irrespective of their genders and whether or not they are living under the same roof, but does not include a relationship in which a person provides domestic support and personal care to the other person—

(a)

for fee or reward; or

(b)

on behalf of another person or an organisation (including a government or government agency, a body corporate or a charitable or benevolent organisation);

Registrar means the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages;

Relationships Register means the register established under Part 2.3;

revocation application means an application made under section 12(1).

s 6Application to register a registrable domestic relationship or registrable caring relationship

Persons who are in a registrable domestic relationship or a registrable caring relationship may apply to the Registrar, in a form approved by the Registrar, for registration of that relationship if—

(a)

one of the persons in the relationship lives in the State; and

(b)

each of the persons in the relationship—

(i)

is not married or in a registered relationship; and

(ii)

is not in another relationship that could be registered under this Part.

s 7Requirements of application for registration

An application under section 6 must include or be accompanied by—

(a)

a statutory declaration from each of the applicants verifying that the applicant—

(i)

consents to the registration; and

(ii)

is not married or in a registered relationship; and

(iii)

is not in another relationship that could be registered under this Part; and

(b)

evidence of the identity and age of each applicant; and

S. 7(ba) inserted by No. 4/2009 s. 10.

(ba)

in the case of a registrable caring relationship, a legal practitioner's certificate obtained by each of the applicants from a legal practitioner who has signed the certificate and that states that the legal practitioner provided legal advice to the applicant independently of the other party to the registrable caring relationship as to—

(i)

the effect of the registration of the registrable caring relationship on the rights of the parties to the relationship; and

(ii)

the advantages and disadvantages, at the time the advice was provided, to the applicant of registering the registrable caring relationship; and

(c)

the prescribed fee; and

(d)

any other document or information that the Registrar requires for the purposes of determining the application.

s 8Registrar may require further information

The Registrar may require persons who have applied under section 6 to provide any further information that the Registrar requires for the purposes of determining the application.

s 9Withdrawal of application for registration

(1)

One or both persons who have applied under section 6 may withdraw the application by giving the Registrar a withdrawal form within the period set out in subsection (3).

(2)

The withdrawal form must be in a form approved by the Registrar.

(3)

The withdrawal form must be given to the Registrar within 28 days after the date of lodgement of the application under section 6.

s 10Registration

S. 10(1) amended by No. 4/2009 s. 11(1).

(1)

If an application to register a registrable domestic relationship or registrable caring relationship has not been withdrawn under section 9, the Registrar may register the relationship in accordance with this section.

S. 10(2) amended by No. 4/2009 s. 11(1).

(2)

The Registrar must not register a registrable domestic relationship or registrable caring relationship until the later of—

(a)

28 days after the date of lodgement of the application; or

(b)

the time when further information is provided to the Registrar under section 8.

(3)

The Registrar must, within a reasonable time after the expiry of the period specified in subsection (2)—

S. 10(3)(a) substituted by No. 4/2009 s. 11(2).

(a)

in the case of a registrable domestic relationship application, register the relationship in the Relationships Register as a registered domestic relationship; or

S. 10(3)(ab) inserted by No. 4/2009 s. 11(2).

(ab)

in the case of a registrable caring relationship application, register the relationship in the Relationships Register as a registered caring relationship; or

(b)

refuse to register the relationship.

s 11Revocation of registration

(1)

The registration of a registered relationship is revoked by—

(a)

the death of either person in the relationship; or

(b)

the marriage of either person in the relationship (whether to each other or another person).

(2)

The registration of a registered relationship may be revoked by the Registrar, on application by either person or both persons in the relationship in accordance with section 12.

Note

A court may order the revocation of the registration of a registered relationship under section 16. VCAT may revoke the registration of a registered relationship on an application for review under section 28.

Relationships Act 2008

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