A current focus area for law reform has been de facto families. Previously, the law did not allocate them legal recognition, as society perceived these relationships as immoral. Altering societal ethics led to their statutory recognition under the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW), granting them many of the same rights as married couples. However, whilst one party could claim maintenance upon the breakdown of a DFR, the law does not take into account future needs of the parties upon separation. The law also attempted to regulate the division of property however, less weight was given to non‐financial contributions, shown in Turnbull v McGregor where the homemaker’s contribution to the property in a 32 yr relationship was valued at just 16%. This ineffectiveness was addressed with the Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Act 2008 (Cth), through enabling them to resolve their financial and parenting issues in the Family Law Court, using nationally consistent processes
An important change in social attitudes has been the increasing acceptance of homosexual relationships. Statute law failed to reflect this shift in societal values, as it was changes to common law that fostered the legal recognition of same‐sex couples. Various significant cases created law reform momentum, such as Hope and Brown v NIB Health Funds (1995), in which a same‐sex couple successfully argued that their health fund had discriminated against them on the basis of sexual orientation, through denying them a ‘family’ status.Eventually the Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 1999 (NSW) altered the definition of a de facto relationship to non‐gender specific,