Divorce checklist and paperwork organiser (Australia)

The quick version

1. Keep every document in one binder, split into the sections below.
2. Write down every date and deadline the moment you get it.
3. Give each piece of evidence a reference and use it everywhere.
4. Number the pages and keep an up-to-date index at the front.

Documents to gather

Gather these before you complete your Financial Statement or meet your lawyer. Tick each one off as you find it.

Dates and deadlines to track

• Date of marriage
• Date of separation (and under one roof)
• Application for divorce filed
• Respondent served (sole application)
• Divorce hearing date
• Divorce order takes effect
• Property deadline (12 mths from effect)
• s 60I certificate issued (valid 12 mths)

Always use the exact dates in your court or tribunal letters and orders.

How to section your binder

What this binder is for

Case Ready is a document organisation and preparation tool that helps you present your case materials clearly. This edition is designed with reference to divorce and separation in Australia, using Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and Services Australia guidance.

• Organise documents logically
• Keep materials in order
• Prepare for hearings and deadlines

What this binder is not

Case Ready:

• Does not provide legal advice
• Does not tell you what arguments to make
• Does not guarantee any outcome

If you need legal advice, speak to a family lawyer, Legal Aid in your state or the Family Relationship Advice Line on 1800 050 321.

How divorce works here

Divorce in Australia is no-fault. It ends the marriage only. It does not divide property or decide parenting, which are separate steps.

• Separate for 12 months and 1 day first. A reconciliation of up to 3 months does not restart the clock.
• You can separate under one roof, but you need extra evidence, including affidavits about the change in the marriage.
• One of you must be an Australian citizen, regard Australia as home, or have lived here for the 12 months before filing.
• Apply on the Commonwealth Courts Portal. In Western Australia, use the Family Court of WA and its eCourts Portal.
• Sole application: you arrange service on the respondent. Hearing is at least 42 days after filing (56 if overseas).
• Most hearings are held electronically. Check your hearing notice to see whether you need to attend.
• The order takes effect one month and one day after the hearing. You cannot remarry before then.

A counselling certificate is no longer needed for marriages under two years. That requirement ended on 10 June 2025, though some older pages still mention it.

The money side

A divorce order does not divide property or finances. That is a separate process, by agreement or by applying to court, and it has a strict time limit.

• You each have a duty of disclosure: income, assets, debts, super, and property held by others, trusts or companies.
• It covers sales, transfers and gifts in the year before you separated, or since. The duty continues until the case ends.
• The Financial Statement is the disclosure form for financial or property cases. Amend it within 21 days of a change.
• Consent orders: file an Application for Consent Orders with proposed orders and documents that verify your disclosure.
• A Financial Agreement is a contract and needs legal advice from an Australian lawyer. Consent orders do not require it.
• To apply, you generally disclose, try mediation, set out your position and file a Genuine Steps Certificate.
• Family violence and urgency are among the exemptions. Exemptions must be claimed and evidenced, not assumed.

Super is treated as property that can be valued and split. Splitting is optional, is done when you formalise arrangements, and the fund trustee must get notice of a proposed order.

Children: agreements and orders

The divorce order does not decide parenting. If you have children under 18, the court must be satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for them.

• A parenting plan is a written, signed and dated record of what you agree. It has no set format and is not enforceable.
• Parenting orders (Part VII of the Family Law Act) are legally binding. Consent orders can be agreed parenting orders.
• Orders cover who the child lives with, time with each parent, and who makes major long-term decisions.
• Separated parents generally try family dispute resolution (FDR) with an accredited practitioner before applying.
• The practitioner issues a section 60I certificate, valid for 12 months. If you agree, no certificate is issued.
• Exemptions include family violence or child abuse, urgency, and formalising an agreement by consent orders.
• In every parenting case you file a Notice of child abuse, family violence or risk.

Since 6 May 2024 the Act uses six best-interests factors, including the child's safety, and no longer presumes equal shared parental responsibility.

Child support and what to record

Services Australia (Child Support) runs child support. You can self-manage between yourselves or apply for an assessment, where a formula decides who pays and how much.

• Apply online for a child support assessment. If you cannot, phone the Child Support Enquiry Line.
• Assessments use both parents' incomes and who cares for the child. Both parents are written to, and either can object.
• A binding child support agreement needs independent legal advice for both parents and a certificate, or it is invalid.
• FTB recipients: seek child support within 91 days.
• In the Parenting & Communication Log, record every handover, change of plan, missed or extra time and cost.
• Keep school, medical and childcare records and costs, and a calendar of nights each parent has the children.
• Keep your child support case reference, assessment notices, care arrangement records and payment history.

Self-managing needs no registration, but it affects Family Tax Benefit Part A (base rate only). Check with Services Australia.

Time limits to diarise

• Separation: 12 months and 1 day before you file. Record the exact date; do not file early.
• Hearing: at least 42 days after filing if the respondent is in Australia, 56 if overseas.
• Response to Divorce: 28 days after service in Australia, 42 days if served outside Australia.
• Divorce order: takes effect one month and one day after the hearing, unless the court shortens it.
• Property: within 12 months of the divorce order taking effect. De facto: within 2 years of the breakdown.
• s 60I certificate: valid for 12 months. Amended Financial Statement: within 21 days of a change.
• FTB Part A: seek child support within 91 days of separating, or it may drop to base rate.

Property orders can be applied for before the divorce becomes final. Late claims need the court's leave, which is not always granted.

Terms used in this organiser

• Applicant and respondent: who files, and who is served. Joint applicants file together.
• Financial Statement: the disclosure form for financial or property cases.
• Duty of disclosure: giving the other side everything relevant, and keeping it up to date.
• Consent orders: orders you agree and the court makes binding. A Financial Agreement is a contract.
• Superannuation splitting: dividing a super interest, by agreement or by court order.
• Parenting plan: a written agreement, not enforceable. Parenting orders: court orders under Part VII.
• Section 60I certificate: from an FDR practitioner, valid for 12 months.

Genuine Steps Certificate: filed with a court application. Services Australia (Child Support) assesses and can collect child support.

Who this is for

Anyone separating or divorcing in Australia and sorting out finances and children. It is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state and court, so follow your own court papers.

• If you are in danger, call 000 immediately.
• Family Relationship Advice Line: 1800 050 321.
• Legal Aid in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA each publish divorce guides.
• Court enquiries and safety arrangements (FCFCOA): 1300 352 000.
• Lifeline: 13 11 14. Translating and Interpreting Service: 13 14 50.
• Family violence: 1800RESPECT, 1800 737 732, free and open 24/7.

Family violence changes the process. FDR may not be required or suitable, and the 2025 property changes make family violence relevant to property.

Hearings & practicalities

On the day of your hearing:

• Bring the copies you have been asked for
• Keep this binder with you
• Use it to find documents quickly

Judges, tribunal members and staff expect parties to be organised and to follow procedure.

Before your hearing

• Exact separation date written down, with any under-one-roof period
• Financial Statement completed, with supporting documents
• Last three tax returns, pay slips and bank statements gathered
• Super statement for every account, yours and theirs
• Valuations for home, vehicles and any business
• Parenting plan or proposed parenting orders drafted
• s 60I certificate date noted (valid 12 months) or exemption evidence
• Child support notices and payment history to hand
• Parenting & Communication Log up to date
• Your priorities and questions written down for your lawyer