ࡱ> 132` bjbjss 7 >d**** 6z,VVVVV111$h*11111VV41VV1VJ X*G"J0z8iR8841111111 111z1111f f $& [Details removed] Submission to the Same Sex=Same Entitlements Inquiry. Dear HREOC, Thank you for the opportunity to make a public submission to the National Inquiry into Discrimination against People in Same Sex Relationships: Financial and Work-Related Entitlements and Benefits. I am a 42 year old lesbian, in a committed relationship with my partner [Name withheld]. We live together in a house that we jointly own. I am pregnant, due in December this year. We have experienced, or will experience, discrimination in the context of Social Security benefits, tax concession, superannuation, health concessions, and as parents. My partner and I are not able to access the potential tax benefits associated with co-contributing to one superannuation fund. These are significant benefits that are available to heterosexual couples, but from which we are excluded. Shortly I will be an at-home mother, financially dependant on my partner. Because our relationship is not recognised, my partner will not be able to declare me as a dependant. We will not be able to access health or tax concessions available to heterosexual couples. We are likely to have high medical bills over the next few years. Because our relationship is not recognised, we are not able to access the joint Medicare safety net, nor the safety net concession card, nor will we be able to claim our medical expenses jointly. As parents we will have to go to great lengths to have the non-biological mother recognised as an equal parent. If we do not have my partner recognised as an equal parent, she will not be able to make major decisions on behalf of the child. When our child is born I will be considered to be a single mother, as same-sex partners are not recognised by the social welfare system. I have no intention of claiming a Single Parent benefit, as I will not be a single parent and don't think it is right to claim the benefit. As a good citizen I am responsibly not claiming benefits (even though Centrelink insist that I will be eligible), but I am excluded from accessing other legitimate benefits because I am in a same-sex relationship. Where is the justice in this? When either one of us dies, the surviving partner will be subject to different tax burdens than a member of a heterosexual couple. Because there is no formal recognition of our relationship, there are many situations where we have to 'jump through hoops' to access the same benefits as heterosexual couples. When transferring a motor vehicle between my partner and myself, we had to provide a statutory declaration to prove that we were in a domestic partnership. This involves finding the relevant form, finding someone who is able to witness the statement, and feeling safe enough to approach that person. If we did not provide that statement, we would have to pay the transfer fee. Married couples can easily produce a marriage certificate to avoid paying the transfer fee. While a simple register of domestic partnerships could address this issue, it avoids the true issue of recognising the legitimacy of same-sex relationships. In the workplace, we are currently not discriminated against, but that is because our respective certified agreements recognise same-sex couples in the taking of carer's and bereavement leave etc. When either one or both of us moves to a different workplace, we are not guaranteed those benefits. This puts constraints on our career and work choices. We believe that to achieve full legal equality all federal legislation should have terms such as spouse, partner dependent , family and couple redefined to include same sex partners and, where relevant, their children. We believe that Commonwealth legal recognition of same sex relationships including families parented by same sex partners would have a positive impact on our mental health, relationships, family life, productivity at work and financial status, among other areas of our lives. 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