SUPERANNUATION
SPLITTING LEGISLATION
362. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer to superannuation splitting laws that allow
superannuation to be divided when a marriage or de facto relationship breaks
down.
(1) Is the
Attorney General aware that de facto couples in Western Australia are not
currently subject to superannuation splitting laws?
(2) Is he
aware that on 3 December 2020 our federal Parliament enacted the Family Law
Amendment (Western Australia De Facto
Superannuation Splitting and Bankruptcy) Act 2020 to allow superannuation
splitting or transferring between de facto couples in Western Australia upon
separation?
(3) Will the
McGowan government expedite the introduction of a bill to support the operation
of this reform?
(4) If yes to
(3), when is this intended to occur?
Hon MATTHEW SWINBOURN
replied:
I thank the member for
some notice of the question. I provide the following response on behalf of the
Attorney General.
(1)–(4)
The McGowan government is aware of the
injustice stemming from the Family Court of Western Australia being unable to split superannuation for de facto
couples. As a result of the WA Attorney General's approaches to
commonwealth Attorneys-General dating back to 2017, the commonwealth government
eventually acted to remedy the situation. The commonwealth Parliament passed
the Family Law Amendment (Western Australian De Facto Superannuation Splitting
and Bankruptcy) Act 2020, which received royal assent on 8 December 2020.
Amendments to the Western Australian Family Court Act 1997 to facilitate the
changes made by the commonwealth act will be introduced into the Parliament as
soon as practicable.