Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) In this section:
"deceased person" means a person who was, at the time of his or her death:
(a) a person who was entitled to a parliamentary allowance; or
(b) a person who was entitled to a retiring allowance, whether or not the retiring allowance was immediately payable.
"retired member" means a person who was entitled to a retiring allowance, whether or not the retiring allowance was immediately payable.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person is a spouse who survives a deceased person if:
(a) the person had a marital or couple relationship with the deceased person at the time of the death of the deceased person ( the death ); and
(b) in the case of a deceased person who was a retired member at the time of the death:
(i) the marital or couple relationship began before the retired member became a retired member; or
(ii) the marital or couple relationship began after the retired member became a retired member but before the retired member reached 60; or
(iii) in the case of neither subparagraph (i) nor (ii) applying--the marital or couple relationship had continued for a period of at least 5 years up to the time of the death.
(3) In spite of subsection (2), a person is taken to be a spouse who survives a deceased person if:
(a) the person had previously had a marital or couple relationship with the deceased person; and
(b) the person did not, at the time of the death, have a marital or couple relationship with the deceased person but was legally married to the deceased person; and
(c) in the case of a marital or couple relationship that began after the deceased person became a retired member and reached 60--the relationship began at least 5 years before the deceased person's death; and
(d) in the Trust's opinion, the person was wholly or substantially dependent upon the deceased person at the time of the death.