{"id":"nsw:act-2003-049","name":"Commonwealth Powers (De Facto Relationships) Act 2003","slug":"commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2003","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"49 of 2003","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":104929,"registerId":"nsw-act-2003-049-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Act and purpose","content":"#### 1 Name of Act and purpose\n\n1 Name of Act and purpose\n\n> > (1) This Act is the [Commonwealth Powers (De Facto Relationships) Act 2003](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2003-049).\n> \n> > (2) The purpose of this Act is to refer certain financial matters arising out of the breakdown of de facto relationships to the Parliament of the Commonwealth for the purposes of section 51 (xxxvii) of the [Constitution of the Commonwealth](http://www.legislation.gov.au/).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n2 Commencement\n\n> This Act commences on a day to be appointed by proclamation published in the Gazette.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 3 Definitions\n\n3 Definitions\n\n> > (1) In this Act:\n> > \n> > de facto partner means a person who lives or has lived in a de facto relationship.\n> > \n> > de facto relationship means a marriage-like relationship (other than a legal marriage) between two persons.\n> > \n> > financial matters, in relation to de facto partners, means any or all of the following matters:\n> > \n> > > (a) the maintenance of de facto partners,\n> > \n> > > (b) the distribution of the property of de facto partners,\n> > \n> > > (c) the distribution of any other financial resources of de facto partners, including prospective superannuation entitlements or other valuable benefits of or relating to de facto partners.\n> > \n> > property means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent) in real or personal property of any description and wherever situated, including money or choses in action.\n> \n> > (2) For the purposes of this Act, a de facto relationship exists even if a de facto partner is legally married to someone else or is in another de facto relationship.\n> \n> > (3) A reference in this Act:\n> > \n> > > (a) to the property or other financial resources of de facto partners includes a reference to the property or other financial resources of either or both of them, and\n> > \n> > > (b) to the distribution of any such property or resources includes a reference to the conferral of rights or obligations in relation to the property or resources.\n> \n> > (4) This Act extends to de facto relationships that ended before the commencement of this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"References","content":"#### 4 References\n\n4 References\n\n> > (1) The following matters, to the extent to which they are not otherwise included in the legislative powers of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, are referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth for a period commencing on the day on which this Act commences and ending on the day fixed, pursuant to section 5, as the day on which the references under this Act are to terminate, but no longer:\n> > \n> > > (a) financial matters relating to de facto partners arising out of the breakdown (other than by reason of death) of de facto relationships between persons of different sexes,\n> > \n> > > (b) financial matters relating to de facto partners arising out of the breakdown (other than by reason of death) of de facto relationships between persons of the same sex.\n> \n> > (2) The operation of each paragraph of subsection (1) is not affected by the other paragraph.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Termination of references","content":"#### 5 Termination of references\n\n5 Termination of references\n\n> > (1) The Governor may, at any time, by proclamation published on the NSW legislation website, fix a day as the day on which the references under this Act are to terminate.\n> \n> > (2) The day fixed under subsection (1) must be no earlier than the first day after the end of the period of 3 months beginning with the day on which the proclamation is published under that subsection.\n> \n> > (3) The Governor may, by proclamation published on the NSW legislation website, revoke a proclamation published under subsection (1), in which case the revoked proclamation is taken (for the purposes of section 4) never to have been published.\n> \n> > (4) A revoking proclamation has effect only if published before the day fixed under subsection (1).\n> \n> > (5) The revocation of a proclamation published under subsection (1) does not prevent publication of a further proclamation under that subsection.\n> \n> **s 5:** Am 2009 No 106, Sch 3.9.","sortOrder":4}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: referring financial matters from de facto relationship breakdowns to Commonwealth jurisdiction. The 2009 amendment (noted in section 5) appears to be a minor technical update regarding publication requirements, not a substantive expansion of scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 sections total, with minimal cross-referencing","7 defined terms in section 3, all straightforward","Simple conditional logic in section 5 regarding termination timing (3-month notice period)","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Clear purpose and scope with limited operational provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law allows the Commonwealth (federal) Parliament to make laws about money and property disputes when de facto couples break up.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Hands power to Canberra:** Normally, family law is a mix of state and federal responsibility. This Act is a 'reference of power' — it lets the federal government step in and make rules about financial matters when de facto relationships end.\n- **Covers same-sex and opposite-sex couples:** The law applies regardless of whether the couple is of the same or different sexes.\n- **Defines 'de facto relationship':** A marriage-like relationship between two people who aren't legally married to each other. Importantly, you can still be in a de facto relationship even if you're married to someone else or in another de facto relationship at the same time.\n- **Covers financial matters:** This includes spousal maintenance (ongoing financial support), splitting property, and dividing superannuation or other financial benefits.\n- **Works retrospectively:** It applies to relationships that ended before this law started.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nBefore this, de facto couples in NSW had to use state courts to sort out property splits. This law paved the way for the federal Family Court to handle these disputes instead, giving couples access to a national system with more consistent rules. It was particularly important for same-sex couples, who previously had fewer legal protections.\n\n**Key limitation:**\nThe NSW government can pull this power back. They can issue a proclamation (official announcement) to end the reference, though they must give 3 months' notice and can change their mind before the cutoff date."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original scope of federal family law power was limited to married couples under the Constitution. This Act expanded the practical scope of Commonwealth legislative reach to include de facto relationships — a significant extension beyond the original constitutional intent, achieved through a cooperative state referral mechanism rather than constitutional amendment."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional law underpinning — requires understanding of how federal-state power referrals work under the Australian Constitution (s51(xxxvii))","The Act itself is likely short and technical, but its significance requires contextual knowledge of federalism to fully understand","Interaction with Commonwealth legislation (Family Law Act) is not visible from the Act itself, requiring cross-referencing","Limited legislative content provided — metadata and navigation elements dominate the provided text, making direct analysis of operative provisions impossible","Historical context of de facto relationship law reform across multiple Australian jurisdictions adds interpretive complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act is NSW’s formal referral of state lawmaking power to the Commonwealth so federal law can cover de facto relationships. By consenting, NSW enabled the Commonwealth to extend family-law style rules (property and financial settlements on separation) to unmarried couples, including same‑sex partners. It affects de facto couples, family lawyers and courts, and helped create uniform nationwide treatment of relationship breakdowns."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act’s substantive scope is to refer specified financial matters arising from the breakdown of de facto relationships (both different‑sex and same‑sex) to the Commonwealth (s 4(1)). It also clarifies independent operation of each referral (s 4(2)) and provides a mechanism for terminating the reference by gubernatorial proclamation with procedural limits (s 5(1)–(5)), but it does not itself expand or narrow the categories of matters referred."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow but technical subject‑matter: referral limited to ‘financial matters’ but that term explicitly includes maintenance, property distribution and prospective superannuation (s 3(1) paras (a)–(c)).","Broad definitional reach for relationships: ‘de facto relationship’ and ‘de facto partner’ are defined inclusively and may coexist with legal marriage or other de facto relationships (s 3(1)–(2)).","Retrospective coverage: the Act extends to de facto relationships that ended before commencement (s 3(4)), adding temporal reach.","Parallel referrals for different‑sex and same‑sex relationships, with each operating independently (s 4(1)(a)–(b); s 4(2)).","Temporal and procedural termination mechanism: references continue until the Governor fixes a termination day by proclamation, subject to a minimum notice period and limited revocation rules (s 5(1)–(5)).","Broad property concept and distribution reach, including future and contingent interests and conferral of rights or obligations (s 3(1) definition of ‘property’; s 3(3)).","Commencement and publication formalities affect when the referral takes effect (s 2; s 5 requirement to publish on the NSW legislation website).","Interjurisdictional effect: the Act operates by referring matters to the Commonwealth under section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution (s 1(2)), creating cross‑jurisdictional legal consequence."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act refers to the Commonwealth Parliament the power to make laws about specified financial consequences of broken‑down de facto relationships — including maintenance, property division and other financial resources (such as prospective superannuation). It covers both different‑sex and same‑sex de facto couples, can apply to relationships that ended before the Act began, and remains in force until the Governor fixes a termination day by proclamation (with a limited revocation window)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2003","history":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2003/history","analysis":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2003/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2003/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2003/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2003/documents"}}