Family+Law

 McClelland denies new laws give mistresses de facto rights Posted Sun Mar 1, 2009 10:33am AEDT http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/01/2504235.htm

Mr McClelland has rejected a newspaper report which suggests cheating wives and husbands will be open to divorce-style litigation from their long-term lovers under new laws. (Supplied: Amy Taylor-Kabbaz) Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland says there is no truth to reports that new laws will pave the way for mistresses to claim the same settlements as divorced wives or defacto partners. The Family Law Amendment passed the Senate in November and comes into effect from today. But Mr McClelland has dismissed a newspaper report suggesting it will allow mistresses to claim income maintenance, property and superannuation funds. He says there are strict criteria that apply in any Family Court determination, such as being in a two-year relationship together and owning joint property and bank accounts. "It was based on a false premise so I expect it's a very desirable article from the point of view of lawyers who want to recruit at least advice work, but [my] suggestion to those lawyers is they wouldn't get very far in the courts because they're raising a non-issue," he said.

=Senate passes bill for 'fairer' de facto laws= Posted Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:12pm AEDT http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/16/2393472.htm

The Senate has passed a bill to allow de facto couples the same access to the Federal Family Court as married couples, in the event of a relationship breakdown. The bill does not discriminate between same-sex and other de facto couples and creates a uniform, national system for property and financial settlements. Attorney-General Robert McClelland says the changes are long overdue and will provide a cheaper, fairer and simpler system for de facto couples. The bill will go back to the House of Representatives for final approval before being sent to Governor-General Quentin Bryce to be signed into law.

=Unmarried couples to access Family Court= Posted Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:00am AEST http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/22/2370308.htm

New South Wales has taken steps to give separating de facto couples the same rights as married couples who are going through a divorce. The Federal Government has asked the states to give the Commonwealth the power to legislate for de facto relationships. NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos says the move would give de facto couples the opportunity to have property and maintenance issues heard in the Federal Family Court Mr Hatzistergos says NSW is the first to take the step towards de facto law reform. "This means there will be a Family Court which will be able to deal with all of the consequences of family breakdowns, irrespective of whether they arise from a married relationship or a de facto relationship and irrespective of whether it is a same-sex or a non-same-sex situation," he said. The changes also enable two mothers to be listed on a child's birth certificate from today. Mr Hatzistergos announced yesterday that lesbian mothers could be listed retrospectively under the new laws, which only apply to children conceived through artificial fertilisation.