Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Magistrates' Court Act 1989 - SECT 3A

Meaning of family member

3A. Meaning of family member



(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)-

   (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.

(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. __________________