Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I move government request (5) on sheet QH400:

That the House of Representatives be requested to make the following amendment:

(5)    Schedule 3, items 1 to 17, page 18 (line 5) to page 20 (line 12), omit the items, substitute:

1  Subsection 3(1) (subparagraph (a)(ii) of the definition of child)

Omit “and”, substitute “or”.

2  Subsection 3(1) (after subparagraph (a)(ii) of the definition of child)

Insert:

                 (iii)    was, immediately before the member’s death, someone who would have been the stepchild of the member except that the member was not legally married to a spouse who survives the member; or

                 (iv)    is a child of the member within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975; and

3  Subsection 3(1) (at the end of the definition of child)

Add:

; and (c)                a person who:

                   (i)    is, within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975, a child of a spouse who survives the member; and

                  (ii)    was wholly or substantially dependent upon the member at the time of the member’s death.

4  Subsection 3(1) (definition of eligible orphan)

After “pension”, insert “or spouse pension”.

5  Subsection 3(1)

Insert:

marital or couple relationship has the meaning given by section 6A.

6  Subsection 3(1)

Insert:

partner: a person is the partner of another person if the two persons have a relationship as a couple (whether the persons are the same sex or different sexes).

7  Subsection 3(1) (definition of pension benefit)

After “widow’s pension”, insert “, spouse pension”.

8  Subsection 3(1)

Insert:

spouse has a meaning affected by section 6B.

9  Subsection 6A(1)

Omit “marital relationship”, substitute “marital or couple relationship”.

Note:   The heading to section 6A is replaced by the heading “Marital or couple relationship”.

10  Subsection 6A(1)

After “husband or wife”, insert “or partner”.

11  Subsection 6A(2)

After “husband or wife” (wherever occurring), insert “or partner”.

12  Subsection 6A(3)

After “marital”, insert “or couple”.

13  After paragraph 6A(4)(b)

Insert:

           (ba)    the persons’ relationship was registered under a law of a State or Territory prescribed for the purposes of section 22B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, as a kind of relationship prescribed for the purposes of that section;

14  At the end of paragraph 6A(4)(c)

Add:

          ; or (iii)    a child of both of the persons for the purposes of the Family Law Act 1975;

15  Subsections 6B(2) and (3)

After “marital” (wherever occurring), insert “or couple”.

16  Paragraph 6BA(1)(b)

After “marital”, insert “or couple”.

Note:   The heading to section 6BA is altered by omitting “marriages” and substituting “marital or couple relationships”.

I will provide some information to the Senate about the nature of that amendment. Government amendment (5) replaces items 1 to 17 of the previous schedule 3 to the act. Amendment (5) effects a number of specific amendments. I will go through these sequentially. Items 5, 9, 12, 15 and 16 of schedule 3 refer to ‘marital or couple relationship’ rather than ‘couple relationship’. Items 10 and 11 adopt the term ‘husband or wife or partner’. Item 13 refers to regulations made under the Acts Interpretation Act rather than under the Judges’ Pensions Act. Items 2, 3 and 14 refer to a child within the meaning of the Family Law Act rather than the ‘product of the relationship’ definition of a child.