Dependent is defined by the Act as being “dependent for economic support”. Thus a dependant is usually dependent on the employee.
The case of Lambroglou and the Commonwealth (1989) provides definition of dependency, looking at whole and partial economic support:
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Case law |
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“Dependency, in my view, is the reliance by a person on the earnings of another for economic support, and that reliance is either whole or part. If a person does not earn and relies upon the earnings of another for support, that person is wholly dependent. |
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If a person does earn, but those earnings are not sufficient to allow that person to be self supporting, and relies also on the earnings of another, that person is partly dependent, that is that person depends in part on the earnings of that other person for support.” |
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Re: Lambroglou and Commonwealth (1989) |