Are we boyfriend and girlfriend or are we de facto partners? What are some practical and tangible ways of differentiating between boy friend and girlfriend in order to meet the partner visa criteria?

Answer: The degree of integration across the 4 pillars determines whether you are de facto partners or boyfriend and girlfriend. Have you assessed the application as best as possible against the 4 pillars?
Boyfriend and girlfriend relationships don’t typically have:

•⁠ ⁠Deeply integrated finances, a “living” joint bank account, shared savings accounts
•⁠ ⁠Don’t nominate each other as super and life insurance beneficiaries
•⁠ ⁠They don’t have Last Wills & Testaments,
•⁠ ⁠They don’t always live together 24/7 by choice.
•⁠ ⁠They don’t have shared liabilities
•⁠ ⁠They do not present to each other’s family and friends and the community as committed life partners.
•⁠ ⁠Don’t hold the advanced degree of trust in all aspects of their lives.
•⁠ ⁠Have overall far less evidence of a deep and long term relationship on multiple levels.

In short, the evidence always tells the story. Make the argument and tell the story with your evidence.