Relationships Act 2003

The Act’s definitional core is structured around three mutually reinforcing concepts: significant relationship, caring relationship, and personal relationship. A significant relationship is a relationship between two adults who have a couple-like relationship, are not married to each other and are not related by family (s 4(1)). The Act provides an evidentiary checklist (non-exhaustive) that the court may take into account where the relationship is not registered, including duration, co-residence, sexual relationship, financial interdependence, property ownership, mutual commitment, child care, household duties and public reputation (s 4(3)-(4)). A caring relationship is defined as a relationship other than a marriage or significant relationship where one or both adults provides domestic support and personal care to the other (s 5(1)). The Act excludes paid carers, employees and care provided on behalf of organisations from the definition of caring relationship (s 5(2)), but explicitly excludes Commonwealth carer allowances from that disqualification (s 5(3)). The term personal relationship is defined simply as either a significant relationship or a caring relationship (s 6).

These definitions determine eligibility for the Act’s remedies and the effect of registration. Registration of a deed under Part 2 is treated as proof of a significant or caring relationship (ss 4(2), 5(4), 14). The Act also defines partner, parent (including surrogate parent), child (including adopted and surrogate children) and property widely, the latter to include real and personal property, choses in action and causes of action (s 3). Financial matters and financial resources are expressly broad, and include prospective claims under superannuation schemes, discretionary trust interests and indexed pensions (s 3). Those definitions frame the scope of orders the courts may make: the court may adjust interests in property and make maintenance orders in relation to the partners’ property, income and financial resources (ss 36, 40, 47).

The Act distinguishes voluntary private arrangements from court-determined outcomes. Parties may enter personal relationship agreements or separation agreements, which are contracts enforceable under contract law (ss 60-61). For a court to be precluded from making an order inconsistent with such an agreement, specific formalities are required: the agreement must be in writing, signed by the other partner and accompanied by statutory legal-advice certificates given independently to each partner in a Minister-approved form (s 62(1)(b)-(e)). If those formalities are missing, the court may still have regard to the agreement but is not barred from making independent orders (s 62(2)-(3)). Thus the Act blends contractual autonomy with protective formalities to limit post-facto challenges based on inequality of bargaining.

Procedural and remedial machinery is central. The Registrar maintains the Relationships Register and controls access on an adequacy-of-reason test (ss 19-21). Courts are given broad remedial powers to transfer property, order sale, appoint trustees, grant injunctions to protect property, make lump-sum and periodic maintenance orders and to defer or adjourn where material changes are likely (ss 54-56, 41-43). The Act places temporal constraints on litigation: a court generally must be satisfied that the partners were in a continuous personal relationship for at least two years before making orders (s 37(1)), subject to exceptions (s 37(2)), and applications after separation must be made within two years unless leave is granted (s 38). These concepts, taken together, form the operational vocabulary by which the Act regulates non-marital relationships and their financial consequences.

The Act directly affects adults who are in, or have been in, non-marital personal relationships within the State. That group is defined as partners in significant or caring relationships (ss 4-6). Registration under Part 2 is available only to two adult persons domiciled or ordinarily resident in the State who are not married and are not already a party to a deed of relationship (s 11(1)(a)-(c)). The registration applicant must supply statutory declarations verifying consent, marital status and the absence of other personal relationship registrations or deeds (s 11(2)(a)). Caring relationships require an additional procedural step: each party must produce a certificate from an independent legal practitioner stating that independent legal advice was given about the effect of registration and its advantages and disadvantages (s 11(3)). These procedural gates create immediate burdens for applicants who wish to register: identity and age evidence, statutory declarations, legal-advice certificates for caring relationships, fees (s 11(2)(b)-(d); s 30).

The Act also affects persons who become involved indirectly with partners in such relationships. For example, the court may make orders binding not only the partners but any other person who was given notice and the opportunity to be heard in declarations about title (s 10(3)). The Act requires courts to have regard to the interests of genuine purchasers or other persons interested when making orders under Part 5 (s 59). Trustees, executors and legal personal representatives are implicated in proceedings: applications may be continued by or against a deceased party’s legal personal representative (s 44), and orders can be enforced against estates (ss 44(3), 45).

Administrative officers are affected too. The Registrar (the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages) is charged with maintaining the Relationships Register, deciding applications for registration and revocation, setting conditions for access, issuing certificates of search results and maintaining access policies (ss 19-24). The Registrar has discretion to require further particulars and to refuse registration where statutory criteria are not met (s 13(2)-(4)). The Registrar also bears practical responsibilities arising from privacy protections (s 20(3), s 22) and must maintain written access policies (s 24). The Act grants the Registrar immunity from liability for honest acts or omissions (s 29(1)), which shifts residual liability to the Crown (s 29(2)).

Finally, the Act affects legal practitioners and the legal services market. The Act requires independent legal advice from legal practitioners in two contexts: for each party to a caring relationship seeking registration (s 11(3)) and as a precondition to the court being barred from making inconsistent orders with a personal relationship or separation agreement (s 62(1)(d)). Those requirements create a concentrated demand for legal advice at specified transaction points, producing direct legal costs for applicants or parties who seek contractual insulation from judicial adjustment. Courts, the Magistrates Court and the Supreme Court, are the decision-makers for disputes under the Act and must apply its definitions, prerequisites and remedial powers (Part 4 and Part 5).

The Act sets out specific rights, duties and preconditions. Key rights include the right to apply to court for adjustment of interests in property and for maintenance (s 36(1)). Registration conveys the statutory effect that the registered persons are “taken to be in a personal relationship” for the purposes of State law (s 14). Where a deed is registered, the registrants are thereby eligible for the remedies the Act provides without the need to satisfy the two‑year relationship prerequisite in s 37(1) (s 37(3)). The Registrar has the duty to keep and index the Relationships Register and to maintain access policies (ss 19(1), 19(4), 24(1)). The Registrar must also wait 28 days after lodgment before making a decision on registration and may require additional particulars (s 13(1)-(2)); applications may be withdrawn within 28 days (s 12).

A partner seeking to register must supply statutory declarations about consent, marital status and lack of other registration, identity and age evidence, the prescribed fee and any additional documents required by the Registrar (s 11(2)(a)-(e)). Parties to a caring relationship must each obtain independent legal advice from a legal practitioner in a form approved by the Registrar, and the certificate must state that advice was given on the effects and on advantages and disadvantages of registration at the time (s 11(3)). Those are affirmative duties on applicants.

Courts have duties to apply statutory prerequisites before making orders. Generally, a court must be satisfied that partners have been in a continuous personal relationship for not less than two years before making an adjustment order (s 37(1)), subject to exceptions where there is a child of the partners or where substantial contributions or child-care circumstances create serious injustice if an order is not made (s 37(2)). There is also a time limit for bringing an application within two years after the relationship ends, though the court may grant leave on hardship grounds (s 38). For maintenance, the Act clarifies that partners are not automatically liable to maintain each other (s 46), but a court can make maintenance orders if an applicant is unable to support themselves adequately and that inability is attributable to the relationship (s 47(1)). In exercising discretion on maintenance, the court must have regard to an extensive non-exhaustive list of factors including income, needs, responsibilities to others, age and health and the standard of living (s 47(2)).

Contractual freedom is preserved but regulated. Parties may enter personal relationship agreements and separation agreements despite public-policy rules (s 60). Those agreements remain contracts under general contract law (s 61). To render a court powerless to make inconsistent orders, a written signed agreement must be accompanied by prescribed independent legal-advice certificates endorsed on or annexed to the agreement (s 62(1)(b)-(e)). If those formalities are not observed, the court may still have regard to the agreement but may make orders otherwise (s 62(2)-(3)). Other duties flow from the Register offences: persons must not make false or misleading statements in giving information under the Act (s 26), and must not access, alter or interfere with the Register without authority (s 27), with specified penalties.

Finally, the Act imposes administrative duties on courts and on the parties to orders. Courts have wide powers to make orders to achieve justice between partners including orders to transfer or sell property, create security, appoint trustees, execute instruments in lieu of a recalcitrant party and make ex parte orders where urgency permits (ss 54-56). Parties have duties to notify changes that affect maintenance orders, for example marriage or registration of a new deed of relationship will cease an order in many circumstances and must be notified to the paying partner (s 50(1)-(2)). These duties and rights are tightly prescribed by the sections cited and form the spine of the Act’s legal operation.

The Act combines civil remedial powers with criminal or quasi-criminal penalties targeted at misuse of the Register and misleading conduct. On the criminal or administrative side, the Act makes it an offence to make false or misleading statements in providing information under the Act (s 26). The prescribed penalty for such conduct is a fine not exceeding 30 penalty units. More severe penalties attach to unauthorised access and interference with the Register (s 27): a person must not obtain access to the Register or its information without the Registrar’s authority, or make, alter or delete an entry, or otherwise interfere with the Register. The maximum penalty for that offence is a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or both (s 27).

Forgery and falsification attract similar maximum penalties (s 28). It is an offence to forge the Registrar’s signature or to forge or falsify a certificate or other document under the Act; penalties are a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or both. The Registrar is empowered to impound documents suspected to have forged Registrar signatures or falsified certificates and to impound certificates where entries have been revoked or corrected since the certificate’s issue (s 28(3)).

On the civil enforcement side, the Act provides courts with a wide toolbox to enforce compliance with orders under the Act. If the court is satisfied that a person has knowingly and without reasonable cause contravened an order or injunction under the Act (other than an order for money), the court may order delivery up of documents and any other orders the court considers necessary to enforce compliance (s 69(1)). The court’s power to punish for contempt of court remains available as a separate enforcement path (s 69(2)). Orders for payment made by the Supreme Court or the Magistrates Court are enforceable as judgments under the Magistrates Court (Civil Division) Act 1992 (s 67).

Courts also have power to restrain or set aside transactions intended to defeat anticipated or existing orders (s 58). If the court is satisfied that a document or disposition has or would defeat an order, it can set aside or restrain the disposition and order that property dealt with be applied towards the payment of amounts under an order or costs, or require sale proceeds to be paid into court (s 58(1)-(2)). The court may also require a party or person acting in collusion with a party to pay costs incurred by genuine purchasers or other interested persons in connection with the disposition and its setting aside (s 58(3)). These powers give the court substantive remedial capacity to counteract attempts to defeat orders.

Administrative enforcement mechanisms are also present. The Registrar may refuse registration where statutory criteria are not complied with and must wait 28 days before making a decision after lodgment (s 13). Access decisions by the Registrar are reviewable to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (s 25) following the noted 2025 amendment. Regulations made under s 71 may themselves create offences with penalties up to 50 penalty units and continuing fines up to 20 penalty units per day. The Act also grants the Registrar immunity from liability for honest acts or omissions in performing functions under the Act; residual liability attaches to the Crown (s 29). Collectively, the Act pairs criminal and civil penalties targeted at protecting the integrity and privacy of the Relationships Register with broad civil enforcement powers for courts to protect parties’ financial entitlements.

The Act is expressed to operate alongside, and not as a substitution for, other laws. Section 9 explicitly states that the Act does not exclude any other form of remedy or relief under any other Act or law. That means remedies under the Act can coexist with other statutory or common-law remedies. The Act also cross-references other specific laws. It treats marriage as marriage under the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961 for definitional purposes (s 3). It references s 10C of the Status of Children Act 1974 to define parentage relevant to the definition of child (s 3). The Registrar under this Act is the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages established under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999 (s 3).

There is express interaction with federal and interstate regimes for family and property law. The Act provides that if proceedings under this Act are pending and proceedings in the Family Court of Australia are commenced in relation to property, the court may adjourn the hearing under s 42. That provision creates an operational interface with federal family law proceedings and anticipates potentially overlapping jurisdiction. The Act also contains transfer rules between the State Supreme Court and the Magistrates Court, tied to the monetary limits prescribed under the Magistrates Court (Civil Division) Act 1992 (ss 31, 33-34). Those provisions ensure matters are channelled to the appropriate State court based on value and the parties’ agreement and create a mechanism for transferring cases to courts better suited to handle the monetary value or complexity.

Recognition of relationships registered under corresponding laws is regulated by s 65A, which treats parties to a relationship that is of a prescribed class and registered under a corresponding law as parties to a significant relationship registered under Part 2. A corresponding law is a law of another State, Territory or overseas jurisdiction prescribed as a corresponding law (s 65A(2)). That mechanism permits cross-jurisdictional recognition where regulations or prescriptions have been made, creating a route for recognition of relationships registered outside the State.

The Act includes savings and transitional provisions to manage continuity with its predecessor, the De Facto Relationship Act 1999. Orders continued under the repealed Act and applications under it are taken to be orders and applications under this Act with necessary modifications (s 73). The De Facto Relationship Act 1999 is expressly repealed (s 74) and its regulations rescinded (s 75). That preserves entitlements acquired under the prior regime and achieves legal continuity.

Regulations under s 71 may make offences, prescribe fees under s 30, and authorise other matters to be determined by persons or bodies specified in the regulations. The Governor may make regulations that apply differently by time, circumstance or other limitation (s 71(1)-(2), (4)). Finally, the Act assigns administration to a Minister and department pending Administrative Arrangements orders (s 72). Taken together, the Act is designed to nest within the broader statutory landscape, interfacing with federal family law, state court jurisdictional limits, administrative registration regimes and transitional provisions preserving rights under the predecessor Act.

The text contains internal amendment annotations identifying several post-enactment changes and insertions. Those notes are the only amendment history cited by the statute text supplied. Relevant amendments recorded in the text include:

• Section 3 has multiple amendment annotations. Subsections of s 3 were amended by No. 16 of 2006, s 28, applied 1 November 2006, and by No. 66 of 2007, Sch. 1, applied 31 December 2008, and by No. 18 of 2010, s 4, applied 1 April 2011. Later amendments by No. 31 of 2012, s 18 applied 1 May 2013, also modified various definitions in s 3, for example expanding the definitions to include adopted and surrogate children and to treat parent to include surrogate parent (see s 3 notes).

• Section 11(3) (the requirement that each party to a caring relationship produce a legal practitioner certificate stating they received independent legal advice) is annotated as amended by No. 16 of 2006, s 29, applied 1 November 2006.

• Section 7 contains an inserted subsection (3) added by No. 31 of 2012, s 19, applied 1 May 2013, extending the definition of ancestor or descendant to include relationships traced through surrogate children and treating surrogate parent-child relationships as natural parent-child relationships for the purposes of that section.

• Section 65A (Recognition of Relationships Under Corresponding Laws) was inserted by No. 18 of 2010, s 5, applied 1 April 2011.

• Section 25 (review of Registrar decisions) bears an annotation showing amendment by No. 7 of 2025, s 225, applied 1 July 2025, which creates a review route to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for persons dissatisfied with Registrar decisions under Part 3.

• Transitional provisions (ss 73-75) record the repeal of the De Facto Relationship Act 1999 and rescission of the De Facto Relationship Regulations 2000, effecting legal continuity for rights and applications that existed under the prior Act.

Those annotations indicate the legislature has progressively refined definitions (notably to accommodate adoption and surrogacy), clarified evidentiary and legal-advice formalities, provided for cross-jurisdictional recognition, and updated administrative review pathways. The statute text itself is the source of these amendment notes; no other legislative history or explanatory memoranda are included in the supplied text. Any practitioner relying on this Act should cross-check the current consolidated text and the cited amending Acts for precise drafting changes and the preparatory materials for context, but the statutory annotations given here are the only amendment markers in the supplied material.

The supplied Act text does not record any judicial decisions or name any cases. There are no reported judicial authorities embedded in the Act itself. The Act provides procedural and substantive hooks that will generate litigation, and the text indicates likely areas where disputes will arise and where courts are empowered to act.

Primary litigation topics anticipated under the Act are: existence of a personal relationship where registration is absent (ss 4-6 give the tests and non-exhaustive factors that courts will weigh); disputes over registration and revocation decisions made or refused by the Registrar (ss 11-13, 15-18), for which the Act provides an administrative review route to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for decisions made under Part 3 (s 25 as amended); challenges to the validity or enforceability of personal relationship agreements or separation agreements, particularly where the s 62 legal-advice formalities are contested (ss 60-64); contested property adjustment proceedings where courts must exercise broad discretion to divide property, take account of contributions and financial resources and make orders "just and equitable" (ss 36, 40); disputes regarding maintenance eligibility, quantum and variation where a partner claims loss or incapacity attributable to the relationship (ss 46-52); jurisdictional conflicts as between State courts and the Family Court of Australia where overlap in property matters exists (s 42); and privacy and access disputes concerning the Register, including the Registrar’s adequacy-of-reason test for access and the protection of persons from unjustified intrusion (ss 20-23).

The Act also creates criminal and quasi-criminal offences (false statements s 26, unauthorised access s 27, falsification s 28) that may give rise to prosecutions or enforcement actions. Courts will also be asked to exercise powers under s 58 to set aside or restrain transactions intended to defeat anticipated or existing orders, a provision likely to generate contested interlocutory hearings and fact-intensive inquiries into motive and timing.

Finally, the Act creates mechanisms for declarations as to the existence of personal relationships (s 66). Applications under s 66 allow persons to obtain a judicial declaration that a personal relationship exists or existed and establish conclusive presumptions while the declaration remains in force (s 66(4)). Litigation under that provision will focus on evidentiary proof of the relationship and may raise consequential disputes about third-party rights and reliance on the declaration (s 66(6) provides that an annulling order does not affect anything done in reliance prior to annulment).

Because the Act does not provide cases in the text, the Act’s litigation history must be established from external case law and tribunals. The statute’s structure indicates the sorts of contested legal questions and procedural avenues to be litigated, and practitioners should expect litigation on relationship status, registrational process, enforceability of agreements, property valuation and contribution assessment, maintenance criteria and the protection of third-party interests.

The Act contains a number of provisions that create significant practical pitfalls for parties, lawyers and administrators. These are concrete risks grounded in the statutory text.

1. Registration is conclusive proof of a personal relationship but carries consequences. If a deed is registered the persons are "taken to be in a personal relationship" for all State law purposes (s 14). Registration therefore creates an affirmative legal status that opens access to remedies and also may create obligations and affect entitlements (for example maintenance and property orders). At the same time a deed is revoked automatically on the marriage of either party (s 15(1)(b)), or by death (s 15(1)(a)), which may have unintended legal consequences if registrants marry without considering revocation triggers.

2. Formalities for agreements and registration are strict. Personal relationship agreements or separation agreements will prevent a court from making inconsistent orders only if formalities in s 62(1) are satisfied, including that the agreement is in writing, signed and accompanied by legal practitioner certificates in a Minister-approved form. If those formalities are not observed, the court may disregard or vary the agreement (s 62(2)-(3)). Likewise, caring relationship registration requires proof that each party received independent legal advice in a form approved by the Registrar (s 11(3)). Failure to obtain or correctly record those certificates can defeat the intended protective effect.

3. Two-year relationship and limitation windows trap claims. Courts generally must be satisfied that partners were in a continuous personal relationship for at least two years before making an adjustment order (s 37(1)). If partners separate, an application must be made within two years after they ceased or last ceased to be in the relationship (s 38(1)). Although the court may grant leave where hardship would result (s 38(2)), the default time bars are strict and easily missed.

4. Maintenance rights are not automatic. Section 46 expressly states that partners are not automatically liable to maintain each other and are not entitled to claim maintenance outside the Division. Courts can order maintenance only if statutory conditions are met (s 47). Additionally, s 49 bars maintenance applications by a partner who is in a new personal relationship or who has married at the time of the application.

5. Registration, revocation and withdrawal timing matter. The Registrar may not make a decision on registration until 28 days after lodgment (s 13(1)) and applicants may withdraw within 28 days of lodgment or of additional information provision (s 12(2)). For revocation, an application triggers a 90-day lodgment period before revocation unless withdrawn or ordered otherwise by a court (ss 16-17). Those windows affect parties’ strategic timing.

6. Registrar discretion on access and privacy. The Registrar may allow access to the Register only on conditions the Registrar considers appropriate and may require applicants to show an adequate reason for access (s 20(1)-(2); s 21(1)-(3)). The test of "adequate reason" involves subjective assessments of the applicant’s interest, sensitivity of information and the proposed use (s 20(2)). This discretionary gatekeeping can produce uncertainty and a need for administrative review (s 25).

7. Significant criminal and civil penalties for register misuse. False statements in information given under the Act attract a penalty of up to 30 penalty units (s 26). Unauthorised access, alteration or interference with the Register carries penalties up to 100 penalty units or imprisonment up to 3 months, or both (s 27). Forgery and falsification also attract the same maximum penalties (s 28). Those sanctions mean parties and their advisers must be cautious with documents and access.

8. Third-party protections can constrain remedies. Courts must have regard to the interests of genuine purchasers or other interested persons and protect such purchasers in making orders (s 59). Orders can be made to protect third parties, and the court can order the proceeds of sales to be paid into court to satisfy orders (s 58(2)(b)). Practitioners must identify and address third-party rights early.

9. Interplay with Family Court and jurisdictional transfers. Proceedings in the Family Court of Australia may lead a State court to adjourn proceedings under this Act (s 42). The Magistrates Court is restricted by the monetary limit prescribed under the Magistrates Court (Civil Division) Act 1992 (s 31) and must transfer matters exceeding that threshold to the Supreme Court unless parties agree otherwise (s 33). These jurisdictional rules can lead to unexpected transfers and forum changes.

10. Regulatory and fee uncertainty. The regulations may prescribe fees and allow the Registrar to fix fees by negotiation (s 30(1)-(2)), and regulations may create offences with substantial penalties (s 71(3)). The scope of delegated regulatory power means administrative costs and compliance requirements may change over time.

Each of these "gotchas" follows from express provisions in the Act. They translate into concrete compliance, timing and evidentiary risks that advisers and parties must anticipate and manage.

This section sets out concrete steps and procedures grounded in the Act’s text for common compliance tasks: registering a deed of relationship, revoking registration, preparing enforceable agreements, litigating property or maintenance claims and interacting with the Register.

1. Registering a deed of relationship (s 11, s 13, s 19)

• Eligibility: confirm both applicants are adults domiciled or ordinarily resident in the State, are not married and are not already a party to a deed of relationship, and are in a significant or caring relationship (s 11(1)(a)-(c); definitions in ss 4-6).
• Documents: prepare statutory declarations from each applicant verifying consent, marital status and that they are not in another personal relationship, provide identity and age evidence in the Registrar’s form, and pay the prescribed fee under s 30(1)(a) (s 11(2)(a)-(e)).
• Caring relationship additional step: if the relationship is a caring relationship, obtain for each party a legal practitioner’s certificate in a Registrar-approved form stating independent legal advice was given on the effect of registration and its advantages and disadvantages (s 11(3)).
• Lodgment timing and withdrawal: lodge the application in the Registrar’s approved form and note that the Registrar must not decide until 28 days after receipt (s 13(1)). Either party may withdraw the application within 28 days of lodgment or within 28 days of providing additional information if requested by the Registrar (s 12(1)-(2)).
• Registrar process: be prepared to provide further particulars if the Registrar requests them (s 13(2)). If not withdrawn, the Registrar will either register the deed by entry in the Register or refuse to register (s 13(3)). Registration is proof of the relationship for State law purposes (s 4(2), s 5(4), s 14).

2. Revoking a deed of relationship (ss 15-18)

• Automatic revocation events: be aware that revocation occurs automatically on the death of a party or the marriage of either party (s 15(1)(a)-(b)).
• Registrar revocation application: either party, or both jointly, may apply to the Registrar in an approved form for revocation on payment of the prescribed fee (s 16(1); s 30(1)(b)). An application by one party must be accompanied by proof of service on the other party (s 16(2)-(3)).
• Withdrawal and timing: a revocation application may be withdrawn within 90 days with the other party’s consent (s 16(4)). The Registrar must revoke the deed at the expiry of 90 days from lodgment unless withdrawn or a court directs otherwise (s 17).

3. Preparing enforceable personal relationship and separation agreements (ss 60-65)

• Form and legal advice: to maximise the agreement’s power to prevent inconsistent court orders, ensure the agreement is in writing, signed by the party to be bound and accompanied by legal practitioner certificates in a Minister-approved form showing each party received independent legal advice on the effect of the agreement and advantages/disadvantages at the time (s 62(1)(b)-(d), (e)). The certificates must be endorsed on or annexed to or accompany the agreement (s 62(1)(e)).
• Contract law compliance: draft the agreement as a contract compliant with general contract law (s 61). If the formalities are not satisfied, the court may still take the agreement into account but will not be barred from making inconsistent orders (s 62(2)-(3)).
• Variation and revocation: be aware the court can vary or set aside agreement provisions if circumstances have changed such that enforcement would lead to serious injustice (s 63(1)) or if the agreement was entered under duress or fraud (s 63(2)). Contracts may also be revoked by parties’ conduct (s 64).

4. Making court applications for property adjustment or maintenance (Part 5)

• Check prerequisites and time limits: generally, ensure partners were in a continuous personal relationship for at least two years before an application to the court for adjustment will be successful (s 37(1)). If the relationship is under two years, prepare to rely on exceptions in s 37(2) (e.g., child of the partners or substantial contributions or care responsibilities that would result in serious injustice if no order is made). If the relationship has ended, file within two years of separation unless leave is granted (s 38).
• Evidence of contributions and resources: assemble evidence of financial and non-financial contributions, financial resources (including superannuation entitlements, trust rights, pension entitlements and other valuable benefits as defined in s 3), contributions as homemaker or parent and the nature and duration of the relationship as required by s 40(1).
• Interim relief and urgency: if immediate assistance is needed, the court may make interim maintenance orders on application (s 48) and ex parte orders or injunctions where circumstances are urgent (s 56).
• Third-party interests and restraint of dispositions: identify genuine purchasers or third-party interests early; the court must have regard to those interests when making orders (s 59). If the other party is likely to defeat potential orders by disposition, apply under s 58 for restraint or setting aside of those transactions.

5. Dealing with the Register, privacy, access and offences (Part 3)

• Access requests: to obtain access or extracts from the Register, prepare to demonstrate an adequate reason and the nature of your interest, and be ready to satisfy the Registrar on the sensitivity and proposed use of information (ss 20(1)-(2), 21(1)-(4)). Follow the Registrar’s access policy which must be made available on request (s 24).
• Searches and certificates: if you intend to rely on a Registrar certificate in legal proceedings, note that such certificates are admissible evidence of the entry and recorded facts (s 23(1)-(2)).
• Avoid offences: do not make false or misleading statements in information given under the Act (s 26). Do not access, alter or interfere with the Register without the Registrar’s authority (s 27). Do not forge or falsify Registrar documents (s 28). Be mindful of the prescribed penalties.

6. Administrative review and regulatory compliance

• If the Registrar refuses access or makes another decision under Part 3 that you wish to challenge, use the review route to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal provided under s 25 (as amended).
• Check the regulations for prescribed fees and any other delegated requirements (s 30, s 71). Regulations may set offences, fees and procedural requirements that affect compliance costs and deadlines.

7. Practical checklist for advisers

• Verify relationship category and eligibility for registration or court relief (ss 4-6, s 11).
• Ensure paperwork meets statutory form and timing: statutory declarations, identity evidence, legal-advice certificates where needed, fees and service proofs (ss 11-13, 16).
• Where an agreement is to be used as a shield against inconsistent orders, obtain the prescribed legal-advice certificates and annex them to the agreement (s 62(1)(d)-(e)).
• For property and maintenance claims, compile documentary evidence of contributions, financial resources, incomes, obligations to others and the standard of living (ss 40, 47).
• Address third-party interests early and, where necessary, seek interlocutory relief to prevent dissipation of assets (ss 58-59).
• Maintain awareness of deadlines: 28-day lodgment waiting periods for registration decisions (s 13), 28-day withdrawal window (s 12), 90-day revocation default (s 17) and the two-year thresholds for relationship duration and post-separation applications (ss 37-38).
• Review relevant regulations for fees and additional procedural rules (ss 30, 71).

Following these steps, all grounded in the Act’s provisions, will address the primary statutory compliance obligations and reduce exposure to the practical pitfalls identified elsewhere in this note.