Australian Capital Territory Current Acts Australian Capital Territory Current Acts(1) In an Act or statutory instrument, a reference to a person's "domestic partner" is a reference to someone who lives with the person in a domestic partnership, and includes a reference to a spouse, civil union partner or civil partner of the person.
Note The Macquarie dictionary, (1997) defines spouse as ‘either member of a married pair in relation to the other; one's husband or wife'.
(2) In an Act or statutory instrument, a domestic partnership is the relationship between 2 people, whether of a different or the same sex, living together as a couple on a genuine domestic basis.
Example—indicators to decide whether 2 people are in a domestic partnership
1 the length of their relationship
2 whether they are living together
3 if they are living together—how long and under what circumstances they have lived together
4 whether there is a sexual relationship between them
5 their degree of financial dependence or interdependence, and any arrangements for financial support, between or by them
6 the ownership, use and acquisition of their property, including any property that they own individually
7 their degree of mutual commitment to a shared life
8 whether they mutually care for and support children
9 the performance of household duties
10 the reputation, and public aspects, of the relationship between them
(3) In an Act or statutory instrument, a reference to a domestic partnership includes a reference to a marriage, a civil union and a civil partnership.