De facto relationship

A de facto relationship is when two people, both aged 16 years or older, live together as a couple in a relationship in the nature of marriage or civil union.

Where a relationship exists, and one or both of the couple are 16 or 17 years old, before you can accept that the relationship is a de facto relationship, they must provide an order from a Family Court Judge giving consent for the de facto relationship.

For more information see:

• Ministry of Justice Get consent to marry if you're aged 16 or 17

This requirement exists because court consent is required for a marriage or civil union of people aged 16 and 17 years old. As a de facto relationship is a relationship in the nature of marriage, 16 and 17 year old students have a similar requirement.

It is illegal to engage in sexual conduct with a young person who is under the age of 16. If information is received that suggests this is occurring (or has occurred), seek advice from your manager on the appropriate action to take.

Whether a de facto relationship exists can sometimes be unclear and will require consideration of all the circumstances of the relationship.

To determine whether a de facto relationship exists requires the exercise of discretion.

For a de facto relationship to exist the student and the other person must be living together in a relationship in the nature of marriage or civil union.

There are two characteristics used to help determine whether the relationship is in the nature of marriage - emotional commitment and financial interdependence.

The absence of either of these two characteristics means the student is not in a de facto relationship.

When considering if a student is in a de facto relationship with another person, you need to determine whether they have an emotional commitment to each other.

The relationship must demonstrate a degree of companionship and a level of ongoing emotional commitment.

Every relationship is different. Possible indicators are listed below.

Not all relationships will have all these indicators:

• student perception - the student and the other person see their relationship as a relationship in the nature of marriage or civil union; they consider the relationship is exclusive and likely to continue
• public perception - they are viewed as a couple by their community (this may include their family, local church, sports club etc)
• history - the length of time the student and the other person have known each other and/or have resided at the same address, if they have shared children
• extent to which their lives are merged - socialising together and how often this occurs; going out as a family; belonging to and attending the same clubs/sports teams or interest groups together; having meals together as a couple/family; their sleeping and sexual relationships
• shared responsibilities - arrangements for domestic duties such as gardening, cleaning, cooking; the caring arrangements for any children including when children are sick; joint decision making and plans together
• support - the emotional support that the student and the other person provide to each other; the nature of any companionship and support that the student and the other person provide to each other

When considering if a student is in a relationship and the student indicates they are a victim of family violence, extra care must be taken when determining if the required level of emotional commitment and financial interdependence exists.

When considering if a student is in a de facto relationship, you also need to determine if the student and the other person are financially interdependent.

This includes the sense of at least a willingness to support the other person if that person cannot support themselves. This does not necessarily mean that the financial support already exists, but that it would if needed.

Financial interdependence exists when the student and the other person have a mutual commitment and understanding over their support for each other that goes beyond sharing living expenses. It is a willingness to support and be supported.

Every relationship is different. Possible indicators are listed below.

Not all relationships will have all these indicators:

• joint bank accounts, assets, or joint loans/credit
• joint ownership of real estate or other major assets and any joint liabilities e.g. both the student and the other adult own a rental property
• significant pooling of financial resources especially in relation to major financial commitments e.g. saving for a house, car or holiday
• legal obligation owed by one person in respect of the other person e.g. the other adult is the guarantor for a TV hire purchase
• joint ownership of a car. Do they both use it?
• items or services the other adult pays for, if any, e.g. SKY television rental, internet broadband
• arrangements for paying bills or groceries
• the sharing of day to day household expenses