A recent Federal Court Full Court decision of Nguyen v Australian Financial Complaints Authority provides useful guidance regarding when a de facto partner is entitled to a superannuation death benefit.
The unfortunate circumstances set out in the decision relate to an email sent the day of a defacto partner’s suicide, the email purportedly ending the defacto relationship. The superannuation trustee found the relationship had ended, AFCA instead determining that the deceased remained in a de facto relationship.
There was then an appeal of the AFCA superannuation determination to the Federal Court under the Corporations Act. The primary judge considered the law as to ending de facto relationships in detail concluding that the relationship had terminated.
The primary judge’s decision was then appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court, their Honours finding in favour of the de facto partner on the basis that the relationship wasn’t terminated.
It is good to see an AFCA determination holding up under careful Federal Court and Federal Full Court scrutiny and for there to be clearer guidance regarding death benefits and de facto relationships.
Nguyen v Australian Financial Complaints Authority [2024] FCAFC 77
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