Davies v Richardson

The case of Davies v Richardson involved a dispute between the parties over the application of the Property (Relationships) Act 1982 in relation to their de facto relationship. The central issue was whether the relationship had ended before or after the commencement of the Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Act 2008 on 1 March 2009, and whether the relationship had "broken down" before or after that date. The parties were seeking a determination of the applicable legislation and the correct test to be applied in their specific circumstances.

The court was required to determine the correct legislative framework to apply to the de facto relationship in question. This involved examining the timing of the relationship's end in relation to the commencement of the 2008 Act and interpreting the term "broken down" within the context of the de facto relationship. The court needed to decide whether the relationship had ended before or after 1 March 2009 and whether it had "broken down" prior to that date, as the application of different legislation depended on these factors.

The court found that the de facto relationship had ended on 15 February 2009, one day before the commencement of the 2008 Act. The court held that the relationship had "broken down" prior to 1 March 2009. The court applied the test for determining whether a de facto relationship had "broken down" as established in previous cases, and concluded that the relationship had indeed "broken down" prior to the commencement of the 2008 Act. Consequently, the court determined that the Property (Relationships) Act 1982 was the applicable legislation in this case.

The final orders of the court were that the Property (Relationships) Act 1982 applied to the de facto relationship between the parties, and the court proceeded to make orders in accordance with that legislation. The court found that the de facto relationship had "broken down" prior to the commencement of the 2008 Act, and that the 1982 Act was the appropriate legislative framework to apply in this case.