Locke and Norton

In the matter of *Locke and Norton*, Rees J of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was required to determine an application seeking a declaration that the applicant and the respondent were in a de facto relationship. The applicant sought this declaration in the context of an application to register their relationship under the *Relationships Register Act 2010* (NSW).

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant and the respondent were in a de facto relationship for the purposes of the *Relationships Register Act 2010* (NSW). This involved considering the criteria for registration under section 5 of the Act, specifically whether the parties met the definition of "a relationship as a couple" and whether any of the exclusionary provisions applied. A secondary consideration, though not determinative, was the absence of children of the relationship.

Rees J dismissed the application, finding that the relationship could not have been registered under the *Relationships Register Act 2010* because the respondent was married to another person at all relevant times, which is a bar to registration under section 5(3)(a) of the Act. Furthermore, the Court found that the parties did not present themselves to the public as being in a de facto relationship. Evidence from friends indicated differing perceptions, with the applicant viewing the respondent as her "partner" while the respondent consistently introduced the applicant by her given name, and in some instances, as his "girlfriend." The Court noted that the applicant's friends' affidavits contained inaccuracies regarding the respondent's use of the term "partner," and that no independent evidence supported the applicant's assertion that the respondent publicly represented her as such.