Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) For the purposes of this Division, the following are the members of a person's family:
(a) the person's spouse;
(b) any dependent child of the person or the person's spouse.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a person who is, at any time during a relevant entitlement period, a dependent child of another person shall be taken to be a dependent child of that other person throughout the remainder of that period.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall not be taken to have the custody of a child unless the person, whether alone or jointly with another person, has the right to have, and to make decisions concerning, the daily care and control of the child.
(4) In this section:
"child" means a person who:
(a) is under the age of 16 years; or
(b) is a student child.
"dependent child" , in relation to a person, means:
(a) a child under the age of 16 years who is:
(i) in the custody, care and control of the person; or
(ii) where no other person has the custody, care and control of the child--is wholly or substantially in the care and control of the person; or
(b) a student child who is wholly or substantially dependent on the person.
"spouse" , in relation to a person, means:
(a) a person who is legally married to, and is not living, on a permanent basis, separately and apart from, that person; and
(b) a de facto partner of the person within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition of de facto partner in subsection 4(1), who is not living, on a permanent basis, separately and apart from the person;
(c) a de facto partner of the person within the meaning of paragraph (b) of the definition of de facto partner in subsection 4(1).
"student child" means a person who:
(a) has attained the age of 16 years but has not attained the age of 25 years; and
(b) is receiving full - time education at a school, college or university.
(5) For the purposes of the definition of spouse in subsection (4):
(a) a person who is the spouse of another person (the person's partner ) under paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition is not taken to be living separately and apart from the person's partner on a permanent basis, if the person is living apart from the person's partner only because of the illness or infirmity of either or both of them; and
(b) a person who is the spouse of another person (the person's partner ) under paragraph (c) of the definition is not taken to have ceased to live with the person's partner on a de facto basis, if the person is living apart from the person's partner only because of the illness or infirmity of either or both of them.