Property Settlement Entitlement in a Short-Lived "De Facto" Relationship

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia recently had to consider whether it should make property orders in respect of a relationship that had lasted just 14 months. Adesso & Payton (2019) involved a pilot and an unemployed woman who was caring for a child of a previous relationship.

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) provides for the Court to make such orders that it considers appropriate in property settlement matters but only if the duration of the relationship has been at least 2 years; or there is a child of the relationship; or the applicant has made substantial contributions to the relationship and failing to make an order would be a serious injustice.

The couple lived in a listed property which required renovation. The woman argued she had made substantial non-financial contributions to the relationship in terms of managing renovations, gardening, cooking, home-making and helping the man's business, which he ran alongside being a part-time pilot.

However, the Court considered that her contributions were not above the ordinary and not “substantial”. Moreover, she and her child had received considerable financial support by way of private school fees, accommodation and holidays.

The Court concluded that it would not be a serious injustice to decline her claim for a property settlement.  The relationship was of less than 2 years duration and there were no children from the relationship. Accordingly, the Court considered there was no de facto relationship and dismissed the application.

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