When Does a De Facto Relationship End? Understanding the Two-Year Time Limit for Property Claims

The end of a de facto relationship is not always marked by one clear event.

One person may start sleeping on the couch or move into a separate bedroom. A couple may stop having a sexual relationship, separate their finances or stop socialising together, but continue living under the same roof, particularly where there are children or practical reasons for doing so.

Others may separate, spend time together again and later disagree about whether the relationship had resumed.

These circumstances can make the date the relationship ended difficult to identify and legally important. A person generally has two years from the end of a de facto relationship to commence a property claim.

When does a de facto relationship end?

There is no single test.

The Court looks at the relationship as a whole. It may consider matters such as:

•  the parties’ living arrangements;

•  whether they remained financially dependent or interdependent;

•  whether intimacy and a commitment to a shared life continued;

•  how they cared for their children and spent time together; and

•  how they presented their relationship to family, friends and others.

Moving out can be important evidence of separation, but it is not necessarily conclusive. Likewise, continuing to live under the same roof does not necessarily mean the relationship is continuing.

What matters is the overall picture.

Why does the date matter?

Under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), a person generally has two years after the end of a de facto relationship to start proceedings for a property settlement.

Where both people agree about when the relationship ended, the deadline may be straightforward.

Where they do not agree, the date itself can become an important legal issue.

A recent case shows why.

A recent example: Alloway & Longo

The parties were a couple with two children. They agreed that their de facto relationship had ended at one point. What they could not agree on was whether they later reconciled and resumed the relationship.

Mr Alloway said that, after several months apart, they resumed their relationship and remained together for more than another year. Ms Longo said the de facto relationship had never resumed.

Their lives after the initial separation did not fit neatly into either version.

They lived separately, but there was also evidence of a resumed sexual relationship, holidays and events attended together, ongoing co-parenting and financial, tax and property arrangements relevant to the nature of their relationship.

The question was whether they had simply remained connected after separation or had again begun living together as a couple.

That distinction mattered. If the relationship had ended at the first separation and never resumed, Mr Alloway’s property claim was outside the usual two-year time limit. If the relationship had resumed and ended later, his claim was within time.

At the first hearing, the Court found that the relationship had not resumed and also refused Mr Alloway permission to bring his financial claim out of time.

He appealed.

On 4 September 2026, the appeal was allowed. The appellate court found that the earlier decision had not adequately dealt with important objective evidence about how the parties conducted their relationship after the initial separation.

The appellate court did not decide that the relationship had resumed or fix a new separation date. Instead, it set aside the earlier decision and sent the matter back to be heard again.

Alloway & Longo is a useful reminder that the end of a de facto relationship is not always defined by the day someone moves out or says the relationship is over. What happens afterwards may also matter.

What if the two years have already passed?

Being outside the two-year period does not necessarily mean that a property claim is over.

If more than two years have passed, the Court may still allow a property claim to proceed where refusing permission would cause hardship to the person or a child.

Permission is not automatic.

An out-of-time application may create another issue that must be dealt with before the Court even considers how the parties’ property should be divided.

What does this mean for de facto couples?

Where a relationship has ended gradually, or there has been a period of reconciliation or uncertainty after separation, it may be important to think carefully about when the relationship actually ended.

Contemporaneous records can help. These may include written communications such as text messages or emails about the separation, changes to living or financial arrangements and other records showing how the parties conducted their lives afterwards.

The practical message is not to assume that the separation date will always be obvious. For many couples, the end of a relationship is a process rather than a single event.

What matters is the overall picture and because the two-year time limit runs from the end of the de facto relationship, that picture can have real legal consequences.

This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. It does not take into account your particular circumstances. For advice about your situation, please contact Nerida Legal.