reg 2.03A - the 12-month de facto gate
You need 12+ months of de facto relationship at lodgement. You have 23. Met. The legal test is relationship duration, not cohabitation continuity. NSW relationship registration (under reg 2.03A(5)) is a belt- and-braces evidentiary anchor but is not required when the duration is independently satisfied.
Primary source
"(3) Subject to subregulation (5), the Minister must be satisfied that the
applicant has been in the de facto relationship for at least the period of
12 months ending immediately before the date of the application."
Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) reg 2.03A(3)
"(5) Subregulation (3) does not apply if the de facto relationship is
registered under a law of a State or Territory prescribed in
Schedule 11 ..."
Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) reg 2.03A(5)
What this regulation does
reg 2.03A is the duration filter at lodgement. The Minister must be satisfied of a 12-month minimum de facto relationship period ending immediately before lodgement, OR the relationship must be registered under an approved state/territory scheme (in NSW: the Relationships Register Act 2010).
Three properties of the regulation matter for the case strategy:
- The test is relationship duration, not cohabitation continuity. reg 2.03A(3) speaks of "the de facto relationship" - defined by reg 1.09A - which does not require continuous cohabitation.
- The 12 months must end immediately before the application date. A relationship that meets the test today and is paused before lodgement does not qualify. Continuity through to lodgement matters.
- State-or-territory registration sidesteps the duration question. reg 2.03A(5) lifts the duration requirement entirely if the relationship is registered. This is not a substitute for the relationship being genuine and continuing - the other reg 1.09A factors still apply - but it removes the duration argument from the case officer's mental model.
My case
Relationship start (verified): 28 August 2024
Target lodgement: late July 2026
Relationship duration at lodgement: ~23 months
NSW relationship registration: not yet initiated (planned)
reg 2.03A verdict: 12-month gate met by duration (reg 2.03A(3))
NSW registration adds reg 2.03A(5) protection but is not legally required. Modlean:
Target lodgement: late July 2026
Relationship duration at lodgement: ~23 months
NSW relationship registration: not yet initiated (planned)
reg 2.03A verdict: 12-month gate met by duration (reg 2.03A(3))
NSW registration adds reg 2.03A(5) protection but is not legally required. Modlean:
relationshipSubsistedTwelveMonths eduardoNatalieRelationship = true
(kernel-checked).
Why this matters: the prior "12 months continuous cohabitation" framing
Common misreading
Some informal sources (including a prior AI-drafted version of the project
master-context) treated the 12-month gate as requiring 12 months of continuous
cohabitation. That is legally wrong. Verified after rereading reg 2.03A(3)
+ reg 1.09A + the Migration Act s 5CB(2) standard. The Lean model was
updated accordingly. NSW registration is an evidentiary belt-and-braces
anchor under reg 2.03A(5), not a gating requirement.
Strategy implications
- NSW registration is high-value but optional. If the certificate has not arrived by the lodgement window, lodgement can proceed with proof-of-pending-registration and supplement on arrival.
- The lodgement-cliff calculus is unchanged. The ETA stay expires 23 September 2026; lodgement must occur before that to remain onshore. NSW registration timing does not move this cliff.
- Migration agent question Q2 (in the consultation pack): what is the agent's preferred posture on lodgement-with-pending-registration vs defer-to-near-expiry?
Related
- reg 1.09A - what counts as de facto
- NSW relationship registration guide (coming)
- Q2 lodgement timing question (coming)