One man. Two former de facto partners. One pool of money left over from a house sale — and both women claiming a share of it. A 2026 Federal Circuit and Family Court decision shows how the court untangles consecutive relationships in a single hearing, and why the new family violence property rules changed the outcome.

A case study of the recent judgement which examined the issues relating to the existence of a de facto relationship on appeal.

Gillespe & Ngan [2023] FedCFamC1A 27 (20 March 2023) was an appeal of the primary judge’s decision to declare that no de facto...