{"id":"de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003","name":"De Facto Relationships (Northern Territory Request) Act 2003","slug":"de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30007,"registerId":"nt-de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"De Facto Relationships (Northern Territory Request) Act 2003","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nDE FACTO RELATIONSHIPS (NORTHERN TERRITORY REQUEST)\nACT 2003\nAs in force at 11 March 2009\nTable of provisions\n1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n3 Interpretation ................................................................................... 1\n4 Request for Commonwealth legislation ........................................... 2\nENDNOTES\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 11 March 2009\n____________________\nDE FACTO RELATIONSHIPS (NORTHERN TERRITORY REQUEST)\nACT 2003\nAn Act to request the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact\nlegislation in respect of certain financial matters arising out of the\nbreakdown of de facto relationships\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the De Facto Relationships (Northern\nTerritory Request) Act 2003.\n2 Commencement\nThis Act comes into operation on the date fixed by the Administrator\nby notice in the Gazette.\n3 Interpretation\n(1) In this Act:\nde facto partner means a person who lives or has lived in a de\nfacto relationship.\nde facto relationship means a marriage-like relationship (other\nthan a legal marriage) between 2 persons.\nfinancial matters, in relation to de facto partners, means any or all\nof the following matters:\n(a) the maintenance of de facto partners;\n(b) the distribution of the property of de facto partners;\n(c) the distribution of any other financial resources of de facto\npartners, including prospective superannuation entitlements or\nother valuable benefits of or relating to de facto partners.\nproperty means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether\npresent or future and whether vested or contingent) in real or\npersonal property of any description and wherever situated,\nincluding money and things in action.\n\nDe Facto Relationships (Northern Territory Request) Act 2003 2\n(2) For this Act, a de facto relationship exists even if a de facto partner\nis legally married to someone else or is in another de facto\nrelationship.\n(3) In this Act:\n(a) a reference to the property or other financial resources of de\nfacto partners includes a reference to the property or other\nfinancial resources of either or both of them; and\n(b) a reference to the distribution of any such property or\nresources includes a reference to the conferral of rights or\nobligations in relation to the property or resources.\n(4) This Act extends to de facto relationships that ended before the\ncommencement of this Act.\n4 Request for Commonwealth legislation\n(1) The Legislative Assembly requests the Parliament of the\nCommonwealth to enact an Act in respect of:\n(a) financial matters relating to de facto partners arising out of the\nbreakdown (other than by reason of death) of de facto\nrelationships between persons of different sexes; and\n(b) financial matters relating to de facto partners arising out of the\nbreakdown (other than by reason of death) of de facto\nrelationships between persons of the same sex.\n(2) The operation of each paragraph of subsection (1) is not affected\nby the other paragraph.\n\nENDNOTES\nDe Facto Relationships (Northern Territory Request) Act 2003 3\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nDe Facto Relationships (Northern Territory Request) Act 2003 (Act No. 2, 2004)\nAssent date 7 January 2004\nCommenced 11 March 2009 (Gaz G10, 11 March 2009, p 2)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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":"This legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: making a formal request to the Commonwealth Parliament. It has not expanded beyond this single function. The scope is exactly what the title suggests — a request act regarding de facto relationships."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 operative sections (short title, commencement, interpretation, request)","Minimal cross-referencing — essentially self-contained","5 defined terms in the interpretation section (de facto partner, de facto relationship, financial matters, property, plus implicit references)","Simple conditional logic: subsection 4(2) clarifies that paragraphs (a) and (b) operate independently","No exceptions to exceptions or nested provisions","Straightforward purpose: single-request legislation with no enforcement mechanisms or procedural requirements","Retroactivity provision (section 3(4)) is simple and unqualified"],"plain_english_summary":"The Northern Territory formally asks the Commonwealth to enact national laws resolving financial and property issues when de facto relationships end, treating opposite-sex and same-sex couples alike and applying to past breakups.  \n\nIt seeks uniform federal rules on spousal maintenance, property division and superannuation, capturing complex situations (including concurrent marriages or de facto relationships) as part of an early-2000s push for consistency across Australia."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act itself does not alter legal rights or obligations; its sole operative effect is to request Commonwealth legislation on specified financial matters (s 4). The text defines terms and states coverage (including past relationships) (s 3), but contains no measures that change substantive law. Therefore there is no change from the Act's stated, original purpose as expressed in the text."},"complexity_factors":["Short, four‑section structure: limited statutory content (short title, commencement, definitions, request).","Cross‑jurisdictional dependency: the Act is a formal request to the Commonwealth to legislate (s 4), so substantive effect depends entirely on future federal action.","Broad, open definitions: 'de facto relationship', 'financial matters' and 'property' are defined broadly (s 3(1)) and invite a wide range of federal design choices and interpretation.","Retrospective coverage: expressly extends to relationships that ended before commencement (s 3(4)), creating potential retrospective application issues for any Commonwealth scheme.","Separate recognition of same‑sex and different‑sex relationships: the request covers both categories distinctly (s 4(1)(a)–(b)); the operation of each is declared independent (s 4(2)).","Lack of implementation detail: no procedural, enforcement or eligibility rules are set here, so administrative design, compliance burdens and dispute resolution mechanisms would be created only by the Commonwealth.","Interpretive uncertainty: key phrase 'marriage‑like relationship' is undefined beyond being 'other than a legal marriage' (s 3(1)), leaving room for evidentiary and legal definition work at Commonwealth level."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act does not itself change private rights. Mechanically, it asks the Commonwealth Parliament to enact a law dealing with financial consequences of de facto relationship breakdowns — maintenance, division of property and other financial resources (including prospective superannuation) — for both different‑sex and same‑sex couples, and applies to relationships that ended before commencement. It matters because any future Commonwealth law enacted in response would determine who pays and how assets and entitlements are split for de facto partners in the Northern Territory."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003","history":"/api/acts/de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003/history","analysis":"/api/acts/de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/de-facto-relationships-northern-territory-request-act-2003/documents"}}