FAMILY LAW ALERT
(August 2012)
Changes to the Civil Partnerships Act 2011
What is the Civil Partnerships Act 2011?
The Civil Partnerships Act 2011 was passed by
the Queensland Government on 30 November
2011 and came into force on 23 February 2012...
before the LNP’s landslide election victory on 24
March 2012.
In essence, the Act as passed allowed two (2)
adults who were not in a prohibited relationship
and not married or already in a registered civil
partnership
elsewhere,
to
register
their
relationship as a civil partnership in Queensland, if
at least one (1) of them was living in Queensland
and had done so for six (6) months or more prior
to the registration.
A prohibited relationship is a relationship where
one (1) person is a lineal ancestor or descendant
or a sibling or half sibling of, the other person.
The passing of the Act meant that same sex and
heterosexual de facto couples were able to
register their union with the Registry of Births,
Deaths & Marriages and participate in a State
sanctioned ceremony (similar to a wedding
ceremony) conducted by a Civil Partnership
Notary.
The object of the Act was to assist individuals
prove the legitimacy of their relationship by
registration.
Notable changes introduced by the Act included:
1. the definition of Spouse was extended to
include a civil partner;
2. stamp duty exemptions and the payment of
land tax, was extended to civil partners;
3. automatic revocation of the appointment of a
civil partner as a Power of Attorney and/or as a
Executor of an individual’s Will, occurred upon
the termination of the civil partnership;
4. a civil partner became eligible to make a claim
under the Family Provision Act 1982; and
5. paternity
recognition
and
paternity
presumptions were extended to a mother and
father in a civil partnership.
The civil partnership ended upon the death of
either party, the marriage of either party or an
Order of the Court made in circumstances where
the parties had lived separately and apart for
twelve (12) months or more.
The Family Law Act 1975 remained (and still
remains) the legislation governing same sex and
heterosexual
parenting
and
property
arrangements.
Changes to the Act
On 21 June 2012, the new Queensland
Government passed the Civil Partnerships and
Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 which
took effect as and from 27 June 2012.
The amending Act resulted in the following
changes: 1. Terminology
• the Act has been renamed the Relationship
Act 2011;
• the term civil partnership has been changed
to registered relationship;
• the term civil partner has been changed to
registered partner; and
• the term cooling off period has been
changed to registration period.
2. No ceremony
Same sex couples will no longer be able to
participate in a State sanctioned declaration
ceremony.
Whilst there is no prohibition against a
ceremony being held, it will have no legal
effect.
-2-
3. No civil partnership notaries
The office of a civil partnership notary has
been discontinued.
4. Termination process
The registered relationship is now to be
terminated through the registry of Births
Deaths and Marriages rather than by Court
Order. A termination application period of
ninety (90) days applies.
The amendment to remove the right to a State
sanctioned ceremony followed lobbying by
Christian groups opposed to the ceremony on the
basis it sought to emulate a marriage. This was
also the case with respect to the termination
process, which was viewed as tantamount to a
“dissolution of marriage”.
Prior to that amendment, approximately six
hundred and nine (609) couples had registered
their civil partnership in Queensland but only
twenty-one (21) of those couples actually
participated in a State sanctioned ceremony.
Those registered civil partnerships, at the date of
commencement of the amending Act, are deemed
registered relationships under amending Act.
The amending Act does not provide for automatic
recognition of relationships registered in another
State of Australia. It still remains the case that a
couple is not able to register a relationship in
Queensland if they are married or already in a
registered relationship.
Sections of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954,
Succession Act 1981, Powers of Attorney Act
1998, Guardianship and Administration Act 2000
and Family Law Act 1975 have been amended to
reflect the changes in the Queensland legislation.
Other Australian States
Other Australian States that have similar laws
include:
• New South Wales - Relationship Register Act
2010;
• Victoria – Relationships Act 2008;
• Tasmania – Relationship Act 2003;
• Australian Capital Territory – Civil Partnerships
Act 2008.
The provisions of each Act vary from State to
State.
Same sex marriages in other countries
Same sex couples who seek to marry in another
country can obtain a Certificate of No Impediment
in Australia prior to the marriage ceremony taking
place. The marriage will then be legal in the
country that permits such a marriage, if the parties
satisfy the marriage criteria applicable in that
country. That marriage however will not be
recognised as a legal marriage in Australia but
may be evidence to support the existence of a de
facto relationship for the purpose of family law
proceedings conducted in Australia.
Other Family Law Alerts
Visit our webpage
www.garlandwaddington.com.au for more Family
Law alerts including:• Surrogacy Law changes; and
• Family Violence changes.
For Family Law support, please contact our
Family Law Associate, Candice Rosborough on
(07) 5443 4866 or crosborough@gwlaw.com.au