13.2.2 Inclusions

The following circumstances may enable a dependant to be determined an eligible person:

13.2.2.1Dependent Parent of Deceased Eligible Person.  Such a person is an eligible person provided that:

• the deceased eligible person was not legally married and did not have a de facto partner at the time of her/his death; and
• the dependent parent is a widow or widower and was dependent upon the person before the person gained eligibility for a DSH loan; or
• the parent's spouse or de facto partner is so incapacitated as to be unable to contribute materially to that parent's support.

13.2.2.2Spouse of Insane Eligible Person. An application from the spouse or de facto partner of an eligible person may be admitted where there has been a Court Order or Declaration under the relevant legislation, or a medical certificate, that the eligible person is of unsound mind and incapable of managing his or her own affairs.

13.2.2.3De facto Widow.  The definition of widow , in relation to an eligible person who dies on or after 11 November 1978 and before 1 July 2009, include — s a woman who lived with the eligible person as his wife on a permanent and bona fide domestic basis although not legally married to him.

13.2.2.4De facto Widower.  The definition of widower , in relation to an eligible person who dies on or after 19 December 1988 and before 1 July 2009 include — s a man who lived with the eligible person as her husband on a permanent and bona fide domestic basis although not legally married to her.

Temporary absences, or absences due to illness or infirmity, may be regarded as not constituting a severance of the de facto marriage.

A de facto spouse or widow/widower who meets the statutory requirements is placed in the same position as a de jure (legal) spouse or widow/widower.

The recognition, for the purposes of the legislation, of de facto marriages is not retrospective ie. it does not extend to associations which terminated before the application of the particular section of the legislation, or, in the case of a widow, where the eligible person died before 11 November 1978,  or in the case of a widower, where the eligible person died before 19 December 1988 or in the case of a same-sex couple, where the eligible person died before 1 July 2009.