Victorian Current Acts

MAGISTRATES' COURT ACT 1989 - SECT 3A

    (1)     In this Act, "family member" of a person means—

        (a)     the spouse or domestic partner of the person; or

        (b)     a person who has or has had an intimate personal relationship with the person; or

        (c)     a person who is or has been a relative of the person; or

        (d)     a child who normally or regularly resides with the person; or

        (e)     a child of whom the person is a guardian; or

        (f)     another person who is or has been ordinarily a member of the household of the person.

    (2)     For the purposes of the definition of family member in subsection (1)—

S. 3A(2)(a) substituted by No. 12/2008 s. 73(1)(Sch.  1 item 39.1).

        (a)     "domestic partner "of a person means—

              (i)     a person who is in a registered relationship with the person; or

              (ii)     an adult person to whom the person is not married but with whom the person is in a relationship as a couple where one or each of them provides personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic nature for the material benefit of the other, irrespective of their genders and whether or not they are living under the same roof, but does not include a person who provides domestic support and personal care to the person—

    (A)     for fee or reward; or

    (B)     on behalf of another person
or an organisation (including a government or government agency, a body corporate or a charitable or benevolent organisation);

        (b)     "parent" of a child includes a guardian of the child or a person with whom the child normally or regularly resides;

        (c)     relative of a person means—

              (i)     a father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, step-father, step-mother, father-in-law or mother-in-law of the person; or

              (ii)     a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, step-son, step-daughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the person; or

              (iii)     a brother, sister, half-brother, half‑sister, brother-in-law or
sister-in-law of the person; or

              (iv)     an uncle, aunt, uncle-in-law or
aunt-in-law of the person; or

              (v)     a nephew or niece of the person; or

              (vi)     a cousin of the person—

and includes, in the case of domestic partners, a person who would be such a relative if the domestic partners were married to each other;

        (d)     "spouse" of a person means a person to whom the person is or was married.

S. 3A(3) substituted by No. 12/2008 s. 73(1)(Sch.  1 item 39.2).

    (3)     For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (2)—

        (a)     "registered relationship" has the same meaning as in the Relationships Act 2008 ; and

        (b)     in determining whether persons who are not in a registered relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account, including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2) of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case; and

        (c)     a person is not a domestic partner of another person only because they are co-tenants.

Part 2—The Magistrates' Court of Victoria