Yeatman and McKeown

Watts J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application by the applicant seeking a declaration that she and the respondent were in a de facto relationship between 5 January 2009 and 28 July 2014, pursuant to section 90RD of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The core of the dispute revolved around whether the parties met the criteria for a de facto relationship as defined by the Act during the specified period.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine whether the evidence established that the parties had lived together on a genuine domestic basis for the requisite period, thereby constituting a de facto relationship under the *Family Law Act 1975*. This required an assessment of the nature and quality of their relationship, including factors such as the duration of cohabitation, the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life, and the public perception of their relationship.

His Honour dismissed the application, finding that the evidence did not support the assertion that the parties had lived together on a genuine domestic basis for the period claimed. Consequently, the court made no declaration that a de facto relationship existed. The Initiating Application was therefore dismissed and removed from the active pending cases list.