Property (Relationships) Act 1976
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 27 — Occupation orders
27 Occupation orders (1) The Court may make an order granting to either spouse or partner, for such period or periods and on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Court thinks fit, the…
Section 28 — Orders with respect to tenancy
28 Orders with respect to tenancy (1) Regardless of section 23 , the Court may at any time, on the application of either spouse or partner, make an order vesting in either spouse or partner (the…
Section 28A — Factors affecting occupation orders and orders with respect to tenancy
28A Factors affecting occupation orders and orders with respect to tenancy (1) The Court— (a) In determining whether to make an order under section 27(1) or section 28(1) of this Act; and (b) In…
Section 28B — Ancillary furniture order
28B Ancillary furniture order (1) On or after making an occupation order under section 27(1) or a tenancy order under section 28(1) , the Court may make an order granting, to the person in whose…
Section 28C — Furniture required to equip another household
28C Furniture required to equip another household (1) Regardless of section 23 , the Court may at any time make an order granting to either the spouse or partner (the applicant ) the possession and…
Section 28D — Effect of furniture orders
28D Effect of furniture orders (1) The person in whose favour an order is made under section 28B or section 28C is entitled, to the exclusion of the person against whom the order is made, to the…
Section 29 — Orders when property subject to hire purchase agreement
29 Orders when property subject to hire purchase agreement Where any property which is the subject of an application under this Act is in the possession of either or both spouses or partners under a…
Section 30 — Orders in relation to insurance policies
30 Orders in relation to insurance policies Where an application under this Act relates to any policy of assurance or insurance the Court may— (a) Vest the policy in either spouse or partner subject…
Section 31 — Orders in relation to superannuation rights
31 Orders in relation to superannuation rights (1) Where the relationship property to which any application under this Act relates includes property of the kind described in section 8(1)(i) of this…
Section 32 — Orders relating to maintenance and child support
32 Orders relating to maintenance and child support (1) In any proceedings, the Court must have regard to— (a) any order made under the Family Proceedings Act 1980 for the maintenance of a spouse or…
Section 33 — Ancillary powers of Court
33 Ancillary powers of Court (1) The Court may make all such other orders and give such directions as may be necessary or expedient to give effect, or better effect, to any order made under any of…
Section 34 — Discretion of Court as to orders
34 Discretion of Court as to orders Where application is made to the Court for any order under any provision of this Act, the Court may, subject to the provisions of the Act, make any other order…
Section 35 — Proceedings may be in private
35 Proceedings may be in private (1) Any application or appeal under this Act shall be heard in private if either spouse or partner so desires it. (2) Subject to subsection (1) of this section, where…
Section 35A — Restriction of publication of reports of proceedings
35A Restriction of publication of reports of proceedings (1) No person shall publish any report of proceedings under this Act (other than criminal proceedings) except with the leave of the Court…
Section 36 — Evidence
36 Evidence In all proceedings under this Act, and whether by way of hearing in the first instance or by way of appeal or otherwise howsoever, the Court may receive any evidence that it thinks fit,…
Section 37 — Persons entitled to be heard
37 Persons entitled to be heard (1) Before any order is made under this Act, such notice as the Court directs shall be given to any person having an interest in the property which would be affected…
Section 37A — Court may appoint lawyer for children
37A Court may appoint lawyer for children (1) The Court may appoint a lawyer to represent any minor or dependent children of the marriage or, as the case requires, any minor or dependent children of…
Section 38 — Inquiries, and settlement of schemes
38 Inquiries, and settlement of schemes (1) The Court may, on any application under this Act, appoint the Registrar of the Court, or such other person as the Court thinks fit, to make an inquiry into…
Section 39 — Right of appeal to High Court
39 Right of appeal to High Court (1) This subsection applies to a decision of a Family Court or District Court, in proceedings under this Act, to— (a) make or refuse to make an order; or (b) dismiss…
Section 39A — Procedure on appeal to High Court
39A Procedure on appeal to High Court [Repealed] Sections 39A and 39B were inserted, as from 1 February 2002, by section 43 Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 5). See Part 9 of this…
Section 39B — Appeals to Court of Appeal
39B Appeals to Court of Appeal (1) The provisions of the Judicature Act 1908 relating to appeals to the Court of Appeal against a decision of the High Court apply to an order or decision of the High…
Section 40 — Costs
40 Costs Subject to any rules of procedure made for the purposes of this Act, in any proceedings under this Act the Court may make such order as to costs as it thinks fit.
Section 41 — Registration of orders
41 Registration of orders (1) Where an order made under this Act relates to any estate or interest in land, a copy of the order sealed with the seal of the Court shall, upon application by either of…
Section 42 — Notice of interest against title
42 Notice of interest against title (1) A claim to an interest, pursuant to this Act, in any land subject to the Land Transfer Act 1952 shall be deemed to be a registrable interest for the purposes…
Section 43 — Dispositions may be restrained
43 Dispositions may be restrained (1) Where it appears to the High Court or a District Court or a Family Court that any disposition of property is about to be made, whether for value or not, by or on…
Section 44 — Dispositions may be set aside
44 Dispositions may be set aside (1) Where the High Court or a District Court or a Family Court is satisfied that any disposition of property has been made, whether for value or not, by or on behalf…
Section 44A — Application of sections 44B and 44C
44A Application of sections 44B and 44C Sections 44B and 44C do not apply to a trust under a will or other testamentary disposition. Sections 44A to 44F were inserted, as from 1 February 2002, by…
Section 44B — Court may require party to disclose information about dispositions of property to trust
44B Court may require party to disclose information about dispositions of property to trust (1) In any proceedings for an order under section 25(1)(a) , the Court may make an order requiring a spouse…
Section 44C — Compensation for property disposed of to trust
44C Compensation for property disposed of to trust (1) This section applies if the Court is satisfied— (a) that, since the marriage, the civil union, or the de facto relationship began, either or…
Section 44D — Definition of qualifying company
44D Definition of qualifying company (1) In sections 44E and 44F , qualifying company means a company in which a controlling interest is held by, as the case requires,— (a) 1 of the spouses or…
Section 44E — Court may require party to disclose information about dispositions of property to qualifying company
44E Court may require party to disclose information about dispositions of property to qualifying company (1) In any proceedings for an order under section 25(1)(a) , the Court may make an order…
Section 44F — Compensation for property disposed of to qualifying company
44F Compensation for property disposed of to qualifying company (1) This section applies if the Court is satisfied— (a) that, since the marriage or the civil union or the de facto relationship began,…
Section 45 — Family chattels not to be disposed of
45 Family chattels not to be disposed of (1) Where proceedings are pending under this Act, no party knowing that the proceedings are pending shall, without the leave of a Judge of the High Court or a…
Section 46 — Protection of mortgagee
46 Protection of mortgagee Subject to the provisions of sections 42 to 44 of this Act, the rights conferred on a spouse or partner by any order made under this Act shall be subject to the rights of…
Section 47 — Agreements to defeat creditors void
47 Agreements to defeat creditors void (1) Any agreement, disposition, or other transaction between spouses or partners with respect to their relationship property and intended to defeat creditors of…
Section 48 — Incidence of orders against personal representative of spouse
48 Incidence of orders against personal representative of spouse [Repealed] Subsection (4) was amended, as from 24 May 1999, by section 17 Estate Duty Repeal Act 1999 (1999 No 64) by omitting the…
Section 49 — Legal capacity of married women
49 Legal capacity of married women (1) Except as provided in any enactment, the rights, privileges, powers, capacities, duties, and liabilities of a married woman shall, for all the purposes of the…
Section 50 — No restraints upon anticipation
50 No restraints upon anticipation As from the commencement of this Act, no restriction upon anticipation or alienation attached to the enjoyment of any property, being a restriction preserved by…
Section 51 — Proceedings in tort
51 Proceedings in tort (1) Subject to this section, each of the parties to a marriage or civil union shall have the like right of action in tort against the other as if they were not married or in a…
Section 52 — Minors may apply without guardian ad litem
52 Minors may apply without guardian ad litem Notwithstanding any enactment or rule of law, a minor who is or has been married or in a civil union may bring, institute, or defend proceedings under…
Section 52A — Priority of claims where marriage or civil union and de facto relationship
52A Priority of claims where marriage or civil union and de facto relationship (1) This section applies in respect of relationship property if— (a) competing claims are made for property orders in…
Section 52B — Priority of claims where 2 de facto relationships
52B Priority of claims where 2 de facto relationships (1) This section applies in respect of relationship property if— (a) competing claims are made for property orders in respect of that property…
Section 53 — Rules of Court and regulations
53 Rules of Court and regulations (1) Rules may from time to time be made in the manner prescribed by the Judicature Act 1908 relating to the procedure of the High Court under this Act and to appeals…
Section 53A — Power to prescribe specified sum
53A Power to prescribe specified sum (1) The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, prescribe the amount that is the specified sum for the purposes of section 20B . (2) Until a…
Section 54 — Exemption from stamp duty
54 Exemption from stamp duty [Repealed] Section 54 was repealed, as from 20 May 1999, by section 7 Stamp Duty Abolition Act 1999 (1999 No 61).
Section 55 — Application of this Part
55 Application of this Part (1) This Part applies where— (a) a marriage has ended when 1 of the spouses dies; or (ab) a civil union has ended when 1 of the civil union partners dies; or (b) a de…
Section 56 — Application to existing and future wills
56 Application to existing and future wills In the application of this Act to a spouse or partner who dies on or after 1 February 2002 and who has made a will, it does not matter whether the will was…
Section 57 — Application under Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949 or Family Protection Act 1955 not precluded
57 Application under Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949 or Family Protection Act 1955 not precluded Nothing in this Act prevents a person from making an application under the Law Reform…
Section 58 — Rights of creditors preserved
58 Rights of creditors preserved (1) If, had this Act not been passed, any property would have become vested in an appointee (within the meaning of section 378(1) of the Insolvency Act 2006) on an…
Section 59 — Payment of protected interest where estate insolvent
59 Payment of protected interest where estate insolvent (1) This section applies in the following cases: (a) if, after the death of a spouse or partner, the family home (including a homestead) or, if…