Luk and Choy

In *Luk and Choy*, Loughnan J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application by the applicant for a declaration that a de facto relationship existed between the parties. The applicant sought this declaration for the purposes of proceedings under s 90SM of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether a de facto relationship, as defined by s 4AA of the *Family Law Act 1975*, existed between the applicant and the respondent. This required the Court to consider all the circumstances of their relationship, including factors such as the duration of the relationship, the nature of their common residence, the existence of a sexual relationship, their financial dependence or interdependence, the ownership and acquisition of property, the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life, and the reputation and public aspects of the relationship.

Loughnan J determined that, having regard to all the circumstances, the parties did not have a relationship as a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis. Consequently, the Court declared that a de facto relationship never existed between the applicant and the respondent for the purposes of proceedings under s 90SM of the *Family Law Act 1975*. The Court also dismissed the applicant's application and adjourned the proceedings to a date to be fixed concerning the respondent's separate application for a determination by sale of the parties' joint ownership of a property under s 66G of the *Conveyancing Act 1919* (NSW).