What is the process of getting a divorce?
Separation
You can apply for a divorce one year and one day after you formally separate from your partner. You must have lived separately and apart for a period of at least 12 months, with no reasonable likelihood of a reconciliation.
If you have lived under one roof but separately, or where you have gotten back together and separated again, there will be some extra documents you need to prepare.
Divorce Application
You can no longer to go to the Court registry to file an application for divorce in person. We can assist you with your online Divorce Application via the Commonwealth Courts Portal. Any supporting documents are uploaded through the Portal.
Divorce Applications can be made on your own, or if you and your spouse agree, you can make a joint application.
Benefits of a joint application:
If you make a joint application, you do not need to go to court on the hearing date. On the hearing date, the court will check the application and provided you have complied with the administrative requirements, grant your divorce order.
You may be able to share the fees associated with filing the application with your former partner.
You will not be required to arrange for the divorce application to be to served on your spouse.
The filing fee to apply for a divorce is $1,060.00 (as at October 2023). If you have a Centrelink concession card (such as a pensioner concession card or health care card), you can seek a filing fee reduction from the Court.
If you are making a sole divorce application:
At the time of lodging your application you will be allocated a hearing date. This is typically 8–12 weeks from the time you lodge the application.
You will need to arrange to serve (provide a copy to) your spouse 28 days prior to the Hearing date.
If you have children under the age of 18, you must attend at court on the hearing date.
For an application to proceed, you must prove to the court that the court documents have been personally given to the other party. Generally, the court will not make an order about another party if that party isn’t aware of the application.
Once the application has been given to the other party, the person who served the documents for you must prepare an affidavit setting out the documents which were provided, either confirm that they knew or identified the person, and have them sign an acknowledgement confirming they received the documents.
Divorce hearing
It is not an automatic requirement that you have to go to court for the hearing of your application for divorce. If you have made a joint application, you do not need to attend court.
If you have made a sole application and you do not have children under 18 years of age and have completed documents confirming service of your application, you don’t need to go to court. If you have made a sole application and have children under the age of 18, you will need to go to court for the hearing of the application.
Your application will be heard by a Registrar of the Court. If the Registrar is satisfied that everything is correct and in order, they will grant the divorce order.
Divorce finalised
One month and one day after your divorce hearing, your divorce order will become final. The court will upload a certificate to the Commonwealth Courts Portal for you to download.
It is important to note that , you have 12 months from the date of Divorce to either:
finalise your property settlement by financial agreement or consent order;
commence proceedings for property settlement or spousal maintenance orders.
You cannot commence proceeding without the leave of the Court outside of the 12 month time limit.