Sinclair & Whittaker

The Full Court of the Family Court of Australia dismissed an appeal brought by Mr Sinclair against a declaration made by Loughnan J that he and Ms Whittaker were in a de facto relationship for the purposes of proceedings under s 90SM of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The appeal was based on several grounds, including the trial Judge's alleged failure to give adequate consideration to contemporaneous representations made by the respondent that she was single and not in a de facto relationship, the trial Judge's alleged failure to give adequate consideration to the appellant's evidence that he maintained other relationships during the time of the alleged de facto relationship, and the trial Judge's alleged failure to give appropriate weight to particular findings of fact. The Full Court found that the trial Judge had not ignored the representations made by the respondent and that the countervailing facts were duly taken into account. The Full Court also found that the trial Judge, not having accepted that the appellant was engaging in significant relationships with other women at the same time as that with the respondent, cannot be criticised for failing to give them adequate consideration and that the reasoning process that led his Honour to that view does not disclose any error. The Full Court considered the standard of proof required and found that the evidence supported a finding that the parties had a relationship as a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis. The appeal was dismissed and the appellant ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.