What it does
The Relationships Register Act 2010 (NSW) establishes a voluntary registration scheme that confers official legal recognition on the relationship of two adults who are living together as a couple, irrespective of their sex. At its core, the Act creates a mechanism for couples to obtain a formal status that is recorded in the Register maintained under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW). Once registered, the relationship is treated as a “registered relationship” for the purposes of numerous NSW and Commonwealth statutes that confer rights or impose obligations on spouses or de facto partners.
Section 3 states the object bluntly: “to provide for the legal recognition of persons in a relationship as a couple, regardless of their sex, by registration of the relationship.” The Act does not create a new form of marriage; it operates alongside the federal Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) and the de facto property and financial regimes. Registration is not retrospective; it takes effect from the date the Registrar enters the relationship in the Register after the 28-day cooling-off period required by s 8 and s 9.
The mechanics are straightforward but contain several safeguards. An application must be made jointly in an approved form accompanied by statutory declarations confirming the absence of disqualifying factors (s 6). The Registrar is empowered to request further information (s 7) and must not register before the cooling-off period expires (s 8). If satisfied that the eligibility criteria in s 5 are met and the application has not been withdrawn, the Registrar registers the relationship (s 9) and may, at the couple’s request, arrange celebratory services (s 16A, inserted 2018).
Termination of registration is regulated in Part 3. Registration is automatically revoked on the death of either party or on the marriage of either party (s 10). Section 10A, inserted after the 2017 federal marriage reforms, deems registration revoked on the “recognition day” for any registered relationship where one or both parties entered a same-sex marriage that became recognised under Part 5 of Schedule 1 to the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 (Cth). Couples may also apply jointly or singly to revoke registration (s 11), subject to a 90-day cooling-off period (s 12) and proof of service on the other party unless dispensed with (s 11(3)).