{"id":"tas:act-2006-018","name":"Commonwealth Powers (De Facto Relationships) Act 2006","slug":"commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2006","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"18 of 2006","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":80449,"registerId":"tas-act-2006-018-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Commonwealth Powers (De Facto Relationships) Act 2006](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2006-018) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 3 Interpretation\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 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\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](#GS5@EN) , 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)](#GS4@Gs1@EN) is not affected by the other paragraph.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Termination of references","content":"### 5 Termination of references\n\n> > (1)  The Governor may, at any time, by proclamation published in the *Gazette*, 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)](#GS5@Gs1@EN) 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 in the *Gazette*, revoke a proclamation published under [subsection (1)](#GS5@Gs1@EN) , in which case the revoked proclamation is taken (for the purposes of [section 4](#GS4@EN) ) never to have been published.\n> \n> > (4)  A revoking proclamation has effect only if published before the day fixed under [subsection (1)](#GS5@Gs1@EN) .\n> \n> > (5)  The revocation of a proclamation published under [subsection (1)](#GS5@Gs1@EN) does not prevent publication of a further proclamation under that subsection.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Administration of Act","content":"### 6 Administration of Act\n\n> Until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under [section 4 of the](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1990-004#GS4@EN) [Administrative Arrangements Act 1990](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1990-004)  –\n> \n> > > (a) the administration of this Act is assigned to the Minister for Justice and Workplace Relations; and\n> > \n> > > (b) the department responsible to that Minister in relation to the administration of this Act is the Department of Justice.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: referring power over de facto financial matters to the Commonwealth. The scope has not expanded beyond the specific referral mechanism described in section 4."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 sections total, with minimal cross-referencing","4 defined terms in the interpretation section (de facto partner, de facto relationship, financial matters, property)","Simple conditional logic: the referral expires when proclaimed, with a 3-month minimum notice period","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Straightforward administrative assignment to a Minister","Clear temporal limitation (referral can be terminated by proclamation)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act is a **referral of power** from the Australian states to the Commonwealth (federal) Parliament. It lets the federal government make laws about money and property disputes when de facto couples (couples living together in a marriage-like relationship but not actually married) break up.\n\n**Key points:**\n\n- **Who it affects:** De facto couples — both same-sex and opposite-sex — whose relationships have ended (but not by death). This includes couples who split up before this law even started.\n- **What it covers:** \"Financial matters\" — basically who gets what when you break up. This includes:\n  - Spousal maintenance (ongoing financial support after separation)\n  - Dividing up property (houses, cars, money, investments)\n  - Splitting superannuation (retirement savings) and other financial benefits\n- **How it works:** The states are handing over their law-making power to the Commonwealth for a limited time. The Commonwealth can then pass laws that apply consistently across all states.\n- **Important features:**\n  - A de facto relationship counts even if one person is still legally married to someone else, or in another de facto relationship (so yes, you can be in multiple de facto relationships at once under this law).\n  - The Governor can end this referral of power with 3 months' notice, but can also cancel that termination if done in time.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nBefore this, de facto couples had different rights depending on which state they lived in. This allowed the federal government to create the *Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Act 2008*, which finally gave de facto couples (including same-sex couples) access to the federal Family Court for property settlements — the same court married couples use. This was a big step toward equality, especially for same-sex couples who previously had no federal recognition."},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's text itself establishes a temporary referral to the Commonwealth of specified financial matters arising from de facto relationship breakdowns, including retroactive application and a gubernatorial termination mechanism (s3, s4, s5). Nothing in the enacted text indicates a change from that stated scope."},"complexity_factors":["Temporal referral and termination mechanics require gubernatorial proclamation with a statutory minimum notice and possible revocation rules (s5).","Broad, non-technical definitions of \"de facto relationship\" and \"financial matters\" create wide substantive scope, including retrospective coverage (s3(1), s3(4)).","Referral is expressly limited to matters \"to the extent to which they are not otherwise included\" in Commonwealth legislative powers, creating potential interaction questions with existing constitutional powers (s4(1)).","Separate paragraphs for different-sex and same-sex relationships operate independently, which can affect legislative drafting and transitional arrangements (s4(1)(a)-(b), s4(2)).","Interim administrative assignment to a Minister pending an Administrative Arrangements Order adds a short-term governance detail (s6)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act temporarily refers to the Commonwealth Parliament the power to make laws about financial matters arising from breakdowns of de facto relationships (both same-sex and different-sex), covering property, maintenance and prospective superannuation (s3, s4). It applies to past relationships as well. The Governor sets when the referral ends by proclamation (minimum three months’ notice) (s5), and administration is assigned to the Minister for Justice until reallocated (s6)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to have remained consistent with its original intent — referring state power over de facto relationships to the Commonwealth to enable federal family law to apply to de facto couples in Tasmania. No evidence of scope expansion or contraction from the limited version history provided (unchanged since 8 October 2008)."},"complexity_factors":["Involves constitutional concepts (referral of legislative power from a state to the Commonwealth under section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution), which can be abstract for non-lawyers","Short and procedural in nature — the Act itself is simple in operation but its legal effect depends on understanding the broader federal/state constitutional framework","Requires cross-referencing with federal legislation (Family Law Act 1975) to understand its full practical impact","Limited substantive content — complexity lies in context, not in the text itself"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act refers Tasmania’s power over de facto relationships to the Commonwealth so the federal Family Law Act 1975 can apply to couples living together but not married. \n\nIt affects Tasmanian de facto couples by allowing federal courts to handle property, financial and separation disputes, aligning Tasmania with other states and giving cohabiting (including same‑sex) couples clearer, more consistent access to federal family law."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2006","history":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2006/history","analysis":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2006/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2006/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2006/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-de-facto-relationships-act-2006/documents"}}