{"id":"F2019L00280","name":"Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2019","slug":"acts-interpretation-registered-relationships-regulations-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439973,"registerId":"F2019L00280-fast-fetch-1775955785788","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2019","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nActs Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2019\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 07 March 2019\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nChristian Porter\n\nAttorney‑General\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Registered relationships\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nActs Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2019.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 13 March 2019\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Registered relationships\n\n  For the purposes of section 2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, this section prescribes:\n\n (a) each law of a State or Territory mentioned in column 1 of an item of the following table; and\n\n (b) the kind of relationship described in column 2 of that item by reference to that law.\n\n \n\n- Registered relationships\n- Item Column 1Law Column 2Kind of relationship\n- 1 Relationships Register Act 2010 (NSW) A relationship that may be registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act\n- 2 Relationships Act 2008 (Vic.) A registrable domestic relationship that may be registered in accordance with Part 2.2 of that Act\n- 3 Civil Partnerships Act 2011 (Qld) A relationship that may be entered into in accordance with sections 4 and 5 of that Act\n- 4 Relationships Register Act 2016 (SA) A relationship that may be registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act\n- 5 Relationships Act 2003 (Tas.) A significant relationship in relation to which a deed of relationship may be registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act\n- 6 Domestic Relationships Act 1994 (ACT) A civil partnership that may be entered into in accordance with sections 37C and 37D of that Act\n- 7 Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1997 (ACT) A civil union that must be registered under section 32A of that Act\n\n\n \n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nActs Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains the same narrow scope as its predecessor — simply updating the list of recognised state and territory relationship registration schemes. It does not expand beyond the original purpose of prescribing relationships for section 2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (approximately 1.5 pages of substantive content)","Only 7 defined relationships in a simple table format","No nested exceptions or conditional logic","Single operational section (section 5) with straightforward prescription","Simple repeal mechanism in Schedule 1","No cross-references beyond the empowering Act (Acts Interpretation Act 1901)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation replaces the 2008 regulations with a 2019 list specifying which state and territory relationship‑registration schemes the Commonwealth recognises as \"registered relationships\" under the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, covering NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.\n\nIt affects same‑ and opposite‑sex couples with registered relationships and federal agencies that must determine relationship status for social security, tax, immigration and other Commonwealth entitlements."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument expressly repeals the prior 2008 Regulations (Schedule 1) and replaces them with a current list of seven State/Territory statutes and the kinds of relationships to be treated as registered relationships for s2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Regulation 5). That substitution updates which local registrations are recognised at Commonwealth level and therefore changes the operative scope from the predecessor instrument (Schedule 1; Regulation 5)."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow, prescriptive function: the instrument simply lists applicable State/Territory laws and relationship types (Regulation 5).","Cross-jurisdictional references: relies on definitions and registration mechanics contained in seven separate State/Territory Acts, requiring users to consult those laws for detail (Regulation 5, Schedule).","Repeal and substitution: fully repeals the earlier Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008 (Schedule 1), which means a legal effect change by replacement rather than new substantive rules (Schedule 1).","Low administrative discretion: no new discretionary powers or procedural requirements are created; it is largely declaratory (whole instrument).","Implementation simplicity: clear commencement timing (commences the day after registration) reduces transitional ambiguity (Regulation 2).","Maintenance risk: future changes in State/Territory registration schemes will require amending this instrument to keep federal recognition aligned (implicit from the cross-references in Regulation 5)."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation repeals the earlier 2008 instrument and mechanically identifies which State and Territory statutes count as “registered relationships” for the purposes of section 2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. It lists seven specific local laws and the kinds of relationships they register.\n\nIt affects people in those registered domestic/civil partnerships and the federal agencies, courts and laws that rely on s2E to decide whether a relationship is a recognised ‘registered relationship’. It matters because it fixes which local registrations the Commonwealth will treat as registered relationships."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/acts-interpretation-registered-relationships-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/acts-interpretation-registered-relationships-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/acts-interpretation-registered-relationships-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/acts-interpretation-registered-relationships-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/acts-interpretation-registered-relationships-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/acts-interpretation-registered-relationships-regulations-2019/documents"}}