City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register
Policy and Guidelines
JUNE 2013
Introduction
Melbourne City Council has adopted the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register as a means of recognising the relationship status of couples, irrespective of gender.
Under the program two people may declare that they are partners and have this declaration recorded in the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register.
While making a relationship declaration does not confer legal rights in the way marriage does it may be used in legal proceedings brought pursuant to the Property Law Act 1958, the Administration and Probate Act 1958 and other legislation involving domestic partnerships.
Applicants will be required to sign a statement stating that they are making a relationship
declaration in good faith and the information they provide is true and accurate.
The City of Melbourne reserves the right to cease the keeping of the Relationship Declaration Register at any time.
The relationship declaration
Couples who participate in this program will be able to make the following written declarations before a witness or witnesses:
• They are a couple or are partners; and/or
• The length of time they have been a couple or partners; and/or
• They are mutually committed to sharing their lives together.
Couples who make a relationship declaration will receive a copy of their declaration in the form of a certificate from the City of Melbourne. The relationship declaration will be recorded in the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register and issued with a registration number.
Confidentiality of data
The collection, access and storage of information in connection with the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register will be undertaken in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2000.
The City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register will not be made available for inspection by members of the public.
If the applicants consent, the City of Melbourne may use the information provided on an application form to produce anonymous statistics. By providing this information, applicants consent to it being held and used for this purpose.
Specific entries in the Register will only be made available on demand to certain public officials such as the police in connection with their legitimate enquiries.
Couples may obtain copies of their own register entry upon presentation of identification. The City of Melbourne may charge a fee to recover the cost of providing additional copies.
Should couples wish to make their individual entry available to a third party, they must submit a written request to the City of Melbourne.
The Register and all related documents are stored in a secure environment within City of Melbourne premises and access is strictly controlled.
Recorded names
All records relating to applicants will be recorded as shown in the documents provided as identification.
Conditions for making a relationship declaration and recording the declaration in the Relationship Declaration Register
The making of a relationship declaration is by appointment only and subject to the City of
Melbourne receiving the application form with the required documentation and payment of the
application fee.
Applicants must complete and sign the application form to confirm that there are no reasons why they should not make a relationship declaration and have the declaration recorded in the Register.
All documents provided in a foreign language must be translated into English by an authorised translation service.
The City of Melbourne reserves the right to refuse an application to make a relationship declaration.
The City of Melbourne reserves the right to subsequently note on its records of a relationship
declaration any information it receives stating that false or misleading information has been provided.
Applicants who are already married or have registered a relationship with another person are not eligible to make a relationship declaration at the City of Melbourne.
Age
Persons applying to register must be aged 16 or over on the date of application. Any person aged 18 or over applying to register with a person aged under 18 on the date of application must sign a statement that they are not in a position of trust over that person. [see note 1]
Any person under the age of 18 on the date of application must submit written consent to their
making a relationship declaration from their parent(s) or legal guardian(s). The consent must be signed by a Justice of the Peace verifying that the document was signed in his/her presence by the parent(s) or guardian(s).
Partners must provide evidence of their date of birth. Acceptable forms of evidence are:
• birth certificate (not extract)
• passport
• driver licence
• citizenship certificate.
Related persons
Relationships will not be registered if the partners are related. [see note 2].
Previous relationship declarations A person who has previously made a relationship
declaration on the City of Melbourne Register shall not be permitted to make a relationship declaration without first having requested in writing that the termination of the previous relationship be recorded in the Register.
Fee
The fee for making a relationship declaration and having the declaration recorded in the City of Melbourne Relationship Declarations Register is $180 from 1 August 2013.
No refund will be made if either person applying to make a relationship declaration decides not to proceed with making the declaration within seven days of the declaration date.
Following an application, if a couple fails to make a relationship declaration, original application details will be destroyed.
Note 1: For the purpose of the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration, a person is in a position of trust over another person if:
• they are that person’s step-parent, guardian or foster parent;
• they are that person’s school teacher and the other person is their pupil;
• they have an established personal relationship with the other person in connection with the provision of religious, sporting, musical or other instruction to that other person;
• they are a custodial officer of an institution of which the other person is an inmate; or
• they are a health professional and the other person is their patient.
Note 2: For the purpose of the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration, a person is related to another person if:
• they are the ancestor or descendant of that person;
• they are the brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister of that person; or
• they are, or have been at any time, the adopted parent or adopted child of that person under any law of any place, whether in or out of Australia, relating to the adoption of children.
Recording the termination of a relationship
The City of Melbourne cannot amend the relationship declarations that individuals have
made. Either or both parties to a relationship declaration may request the City of Melbourne to
record on the Register that the relationship has terminated. Upon receiving such a request in
writing, the City of Melbourne shall record in the register that it has received notification of the
termination of the relationship. Where the notification has been received from one party only,
the City of Melbourne shall contact and provide a copy of the notice of termination to the other party.
Legal consequences of making a relationship declaration
Making a relationship declaration does not change the legal status of the persons making the
declaration. However, the fact that two people have made a relationship declaration may be presented as evidence of the existence of that relationship in legal proceedings.
People contemplating making a relationship declaration should be aware that legal proceedings involving domestic relationships may be commenced under the laws of Victoria. Victorian legislation allows for the rights of domestic partners to be asserted in areas such as inheritance (Administration and Probate Act 1958) and property division on relationship breakdown (Property Law Act 1958).
Importantly, a Court may consider the fact that a relationship declaration was made, and the words used in the relationship declaration, in determining whether a domestic relationship existed and for how long.
Depending on the dispute, the Court is likely to look at a range of factors. For example, a property law dispute brought under the Property Law Act 1958, section 275(2) provides that all the circumstances of the relationship are to be taken into account, including any one or more of the following matters as may be relevant in a particular case
(a) the duration of the relationship;
(b) the nature and extent of common residence;
(c) whether or not a sexual relationship exists;
(d) the degree of financial dependence or interdependence, and any arrangements for financial support, between the parties;
(e) the ownership, use and acquisition of property;
(f) the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life;
(g) the care and support of children;
(h) the reputation and public aspects of the relationship.
A couple who declare they are mutually committed to sharing their life together may be providing evidence about the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life and duration of [their] relationship. Individuals who want more information about the legal consequences of making a relationship declaration and having it recorded in the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register should seek independent legal advice.
Procedure for making a relationship declaration
Couples wishing to make a relationship declaration can apply to do so by obtaining a copy of the City of Melbourne Relationship Declaration Register application form (attached to these Guidelines).
The application form must be completed and signed by both partners making the application and lodged in person at the City of Melbourne Town Hall, Customer Service Centre (Administration Building). An officer of the City of Melbourne will be in contact with the parties within 30 days of the application form being lodged to schedule an interview.
During the interview the City of Melbourne officer officiating at the making of a relationship
declaration shall:
• ascertain that both persons who have applied to make the relationship declaration are present;
• request that they each sign the relationship declaration certificates;
• witness their signing the relationship declaration certificates; and
• sign the relationship declaration certificate as the person officiating.
The making of the relationship declaration will take less than 10 minutes, after which the couple will receive one signed copy of the cerificate. The City of Melbourne does not conduct
ceremonies in association with the making of relationship declarations.
Further information
For further information on this program or the application process contact the City of Melbourne Hotline on 03 9658 9658.