PERKINS & MEAKIN

In the matter of *Perkins & Meakin*, heard before Judge Bender, the applicant sought to institute property proceedings following the breakdown of a de facto relationship. The central dispute concerned the date of separation, with the applicant contending the relationship ended in February 2015, while the respondent argued separation occurred in May 2013 when the applicant moved out of their shared home.

The court was required to determine the precise date of separation. If the court found the separation date to be May 2013, as submitted by the respondent, the applicant's initiating application would have been filed more than two years after the relationship's breakdown, necessitating an application for leave to institute property proceedings out of time.

The court found that the de facto relationship ended in May 2013. Consequently, the matter was adjourned to allow both parties to file written submissions addressing whether the applicant should be granted leave to institute property proceedings out of time, pursuant to section 44(6) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The applicant was ordered to file submissions by 19 October 2017, and the respondent by 16 November 2017.