It has been three years since the worst week of Ben Jago's life, and he is still fighting for justice.

In early January 2015, he discovered the body of his partner, Nathan Lunson, who had taken his own life earlier that day.

Ben did not know that as Nathan's body was taken away from the home they owned together, it would be the last time he would see him.

Nathan Lunson. ( Facebook: Nathan Lunson )

Young love begins

Nathan was living in Ulverstone, in Tasmania's north, and Ben in Hobart when they met on Facebook around 2009.

Ben made an excuse to travel so the two could meet in person.

"We met, we hit it off, a couple of months after that Nathan moved down to Hobart. It got serious fairly quickly," Ben said.

It was their love of animals that brought them together. While Nathan was an outgoing, friendly person, Ben admitted to being a bit more reserved.

Over the course of almost six years together, they did all the things young couples do: they added to their pet family, rented houses and eventually bought a property in Old Beach, north of Hobart.

But they did not register their relationship with the Tasmanian Government — and that is where the issues started.

Nathan Lunson (left) and Ben Jago were together for about six years. ( Supplied: Ben Jago )

No part in funeral process

After Nathan died, Ben assumed he would be recognised as his partner's next of kin.

In the crucial hours and days after Nathan's death, Tasmanian police and the coroner's office did not see it that way, awarding senior next of kin status to Nathan Lunson's family.

Under the Tasmanian Coroners Act 1995, senior next of kin is determined by the order: current spouse, son or daughter who is at least 18 years of age, a person in a caring relationship, parent, brother or sister who is at least 18 years of age, executor of the will and personal representative.

"It was quite confusing in the first 24 hours after the death," Ben said.

"I was told the only way I could get recognised was to get the relationship registered, even though we owned a house together in joint names, we'd lived together five-and-a-half years and I had leases to prove that."

Because Nathan was deceased, the registration process could not be completed. As a result, Ben would have no say in what happened to his partner's remains.

He never saw Nathan's body again and he was not mentioned at the funeral as Nathan's partner.

Ben Jago with friends campaigning for same-sex marriage rights in 2016. ( Facebook: Ben Jago )

'This wouldn't happen to a heterosexual couple'

Since then, Ben has discovered there were protections in the law for him, even though his relationship was not officially registered. But he could not exercise rights he did not know he had.

Ben Bartl, from the Hobart Community Legal Service, has been representing Ben Jago in this case since 2013.

"This wouldn't have happened to a heterosexual couple. If the police or the coroner's office were asked to attend a scene where someone had committed suicide, the general presumption would be that two adults living in a property are probably in a significant relationship," he said.

Mr Bartl said it appeared the coroner's office checked whether Nathan and Ben's relationship was registered and after finding it was not, did not check the further criteria which are valid in proving the existence of a significant relationship.

In October 2016, Ben received a letter from the Magistrates Court of Tasmania (Coronial Division) acknowledging that he and Nathan were living in a significant relationship at the time of Nathan's death.

In March 2017, Ben launched a complaint with the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. A year on, the case is yet to be heard.

The registrar of the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, Andrew Cooper, said a decision was pending in relation to the matter.

"Due to the complexities of the issues raised it is taking some time for the decision, and the reasons for that decision, to be finalised," he said.

Rodney Croome says official discrimination has been entrenched in Tasmania for years. ( ABC News: David Hudspeth )

Authorities 'should be begging for forgiveness'

Long-time activist for LGBTI human rights Rodney Croome said Ben's case was not an isolated incident.

"There have been similar cases in Tasmania before, and after Ben went public I was contacted by same-sex partners across the nation who had suffered the same kind of official discrimination," he said.

Mr Croome said it was "shameful" that months after the landmark marriage equality bill passed into law, Ben's case was still in limbo.

"The Tasmanian authorities should be begging Ben Jago for forgiveness, but instead they're dragging their feet about resolving this case."

Ben is seeking an apology and changes to the law so this does not happen to other unmarried, same-sex couples.

"I'm not going to give up on this matter. I've fought too hard and the reality is, I feel like I have to do it, or nothing will change," he said.

"I don't sleep at night sometimes, thinking about it.

"The action I'm taking probably means he's not resting in peace and I want him to rest in peace."

Nathan Lunson's family declined an invitation to participate in this story.