Property Settlement in Australia: The Law After June 2025

Since 10 June 2025, Australian courts must weigh the economic effect of family violence, including economic and financial abuse, when dividing property under section 79 of the Family Law Act 1975, and apply new, limited rules for companion animals under section 79(6) and (7).

If you are experiencing family violence and need help now: call 000 in an emergency, or contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for free, confidential support and counselling, available 24 hours a day, every day.

Western Australia is different for de facto financial matters. Western Australia did not refer de facto property and financial matters to the Commonwealth, so the federal Part VIIIAB provisions described on this page do not govern a de facto property or maintenance claim in Western Australia. Those claims run under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA), which has its own provisions and its own thresholds, including a two-year relationship requirement under section 205Z and declarations of property interests under section 205ZA. If your de facto matter is in Western Australia, work from that Act and not the section numbers used here. Married couples in Western Australia remain under the federal Family Law Act 1975.

This article addresses property settlement for married couples under Part VIII of the Family Law Act 1975. For de facto couples, the equivalent regime is Part VIIIAB (sections 90SB, 90SM and 90SMA); see de facto relationships in Australia. It does not address child support, which Services Australia assesses separately; see child support in Australia.

The 10 June 2025 changes: family violence and companion animals

The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 commenced 10 June 2025, a date the Attorney-General's Department and the FCFCOA have confirmed rather than one read directly from the amending Act's own commencement clause. From that date, section 79(4)(ca) requires a court to take into account the effect of any family violence, to which one party has subjected or exposed the other, on that party's ability to make the financial, non-financial and homemaker contributions listed elsewhere in section 79(4). Section 79(5)(a) requires the same effect to be weighed among the current and future circumstances considered under section 79(5), covering matters such as ongoing counselling costs or reduced earning capacity. The amendments make explicit that economic and financial abuse, such as one partner controlling all household finances or spending, can constitute family violence for this purpose. The changes apply to all separating couples negotiating outside court as well as those before the FCFCOA, including matters filed before 10 June 2025 where a final hearing had not yet commenced.

Companion animals: what a court can and cannot order

Section 79(6) gives a court a narrow, specific set of powers over property that is a companion animal, defined in section 4(1). The court may order that only one party owns the animal, that it be transferred to another person who consents to the transfer, or that the animal be sold. The Act expressly states the court may not make any other kind of order about ownership of a companion animal, which rules out orders for joint ownership or shared, alternating possession. Section 79(7) lists the factors a court weighs in deciding: the circumstances in which the animal was acquired, who has ownership or possession, the extent to which each party cared for and paid for the animal, any family violence connected to the relationship, any history of cruelty or threatened cruelty towards the animal, each party's attachment (and any child's attachment) to it, and each party's demonstrated future capacity to care for it alone.

What section 79 actually requires: the four-step process

Section 79 lets a court alter the property interests of married parties, but only through a structured process. First, the court identifies the existing legal and equitable interests in property, and the existing liabilities, of each party (section 79(3)(a)). Second, it weighs contributions under section 79(4): financial and non-financial contributions to acquiring, conserving or improving property, contributions to the welfare of the family including as homemaker or parent, and, since June 2025, the family-violence limb at paragraph (ca). Third, it weighs current and future circumstances under section 79(5): age and health, income and earning capacity, care of children under 18, and, since June 2025, the family-violence limb at paragraph (a), among many others. Fourth, and only then, the court decides under section 79(2) whether making an order at all, and if so what order, is just and equitable in all the circumstances. There is no entitlement to any specific percentage simply from being married.

Section 79AA: the procedural provisions, not new law

Section 79AA carries older, pre-existing procedural machinery that was renumbered as part of the broader restructure of the Act, not a substantive change introduced by the 10 June 2025 reforms. It covers matters such as adjournment of proceedings, what happens if a party dies before proceedings conclude, court-ordered conferences, and the joinder of creditors and bankruptcy trustees to property proceedings. Readers researching what changed on 10 June 2025 should focus on section 79(4)(ca), 79(5)(a) and 79(6)-(7), not on section 79AA, which is administrative continuity rather than reform.

De facto couples: the equivalent regime

Married couples use section 79; de facto couples use the parallel section 90SM for altering property interests, and section 90SMA for the equivalent procedural provisions to section 79AA. The same four-step process, the same 2025 family-violence considerations, and the same companion-animal rules apply, once the relationship meets the threshold for the court to have jurisdiction at all under section 90SB. See de facto relationships in Australia for that threshold and the limitation period that applies to de facto property claims.

Superannuation as part of the property pool

Superannuation is treated as property for the purposes of a family law settlement, but it is dealt with through its own machinery in Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act rather than simply added to a bank-account-style asset pool. A court can make a splitting order, dividing an existing superannuation interest between the parties, or a flagging order, which prevents a trustee from dealing with the interest until the flag is lifted, typically because it cannot yet be valued or paid out. A superannuation split does not convert the receiving party's share into cash immediately; it generally remains subject to the same preservation rules that applied to the original interest, meaning it is usually inaccessible until the receiving party reaches preservation age or another condition of release is met. Both married couples (section 79 read with Part VIIIB) and de facto couples (section 90SM with the equivalent provisions) can have superannuation dealt with this way, and a fund trustee must be given the opportunity to respond before an order affecting their member's interest is made.

Disclosure duties

Separating couples have an ongoing duty to disclose all information relevant to their financial or property dispute, to each other and to the court. From 10 June 2025, this duty sits directly in the Family Law Act itself rather than only in the FCFCOA's rules, though its substance is unchanged. For married couples the duty is at section 71B; for de facto couples the equivalent is section 90RI. Non-compliance can affect the outcome of a property settlement, attract costs orders, or in serious cases be treated as contempt of court.

Formalising a property division: agreements versus court orders

Not every property settlement goes before a judge. Couples who agree can apply for consent orders, or enter a binding financial agreement under Part VIIIA (married) or Part VIIIAB Division 4 (de facto), which requires each party to receive independent legal advice under section 90G before signing. Where agreement is not possible, either party can apply to the FCFCOA for property orders, generally alongside a divorce application or parenting proceedings if children are involved. See binding financial agreements in Australia for the formal requirements and how such an agreement can later be set aside.

This page provides general legal information about property settlement in Australia, verified 20 July 2026. It is not legal advice about your own property or finances. For advice, consult a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory.

For the de facto equivalent, see de facto relationships in Australia. For formalising a division through an agreement, see binding financial agreements in Australia. For ongoing financial support after separation, see spousal maintenance in Australia. For the complete picture, return to the Australian family law hub.