EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 319

Issued by Authority of the Attorney-General

Acts Interpretation Act 1901

Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

The Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (the Act) provides rules for the interpretation of Acts of the Commonwealth Parliament.

Section 51 of the Act provides that the Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Section 22A of the Act provides a definition of ‘de facto partner’ which may be referred to by other Commonwealth laws.

Section 22B of the Act provides a definition of ‘registered relationship’ for the purposes of the definition of ‘de facto partner’. It provides that a registered relationship is a relationship which is registered under a prescribed state or territory law, as a prescribed kind of relationship.

Registration of a prescribed kind of relationship under a prescribed state or territory law is sufficient to establish that a person is another person’s de facto partner for the purposes of section 22A. Relationship registration will therefore provide conclusive proof that a person is another person’s de facto partner throughout a wide range of Commonwealth laws that use the definition of de facto partner in the Act.

The Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008 currently prescribe each of the existing state and territory relationship registration schemes, and relationships as a couple which may be registered under each of these schemes. This includes relationships registered under the Relationships Act 2008 (Vic) (the Victorian Act).

The Victorian Act has been amended by the Relationships Amendment (Caring Relationships) Act 2009 (Vic) to provide for the registration of caring relationships in Victoria. As a result, two types of relationships will be registrable under the Victorian scheme: ‘caring relationships’ and ‘domestic relationships’. The term ‘registered relationship’ in the Victorian Act will apply to both types of relationships.

The Government’s intention is only to recognise the registration of de facto relationships, and not caring relationships.

The Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Amendment Regulations 2009 (the Regulations) ensure that only domestic relationships, not caring relationships, registered under the Victorian Act are recognised for the purposes of section 22B of the Act.

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.

The Victorian Government was consulted on the Regulations and no further consultation was considered necessary because the Regulations preserve the existing substantive effect of the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations.

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Regulations commence on 1 December 2009.

Details of the Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 — Name of Regulations

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1).

Regulation 2 — Commencement

This regulation provides that the Regulations commence on 1 December 2009.

Regulation 3 — Amendment of Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008

This regulation provides that the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1 — Amendment

Schedule 1 repeals the existing paragraph 3(a) of the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations and substitutes a new paragraph that provides that a domestic relationship registered under the Victorian Relationships Act is prescribed for the purposes of section 22B of the Acts Interpretation Act.