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Marriage Breakdown and Separation

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Divorce means the termination of a marriage. When a marriage breaks down the parties to a marriage are able to apply for divorce only after being separated for a period of 12 months. To apply for divorce in Australia, at least one of the parties needs to:

  • regard Australia as their home and intend to live there indefinitely;
  • be an Australian citizen by birth, descent or grant; or
  • ordinarily live in Australia and have done so for the 12 months prior to applying for divorce.
You must also satisfy the Court that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and you do not intend to resume the marriage.
 
If it is a marriage of less than two years, from the date of marriage to the date of filing the divorce application, then the parties to the marriage must attend compulsory counselling before a divorce will be granted. In certain circumstances or where counselling is unable to be undertaken this requirement may be dispensed with.
 
The period of separation commences from the time one party considers the marriage to be over and communicates to the other party that the marriage is at an end. Often times this is evidenced by the fact that one party moved out of a joint residence, however separation can occur while parties to a marriage continue to live under the one roof. In these circumstances the Court often requires additional evidence from one party and an independent person to support the assertion that the parties were living separately and apart under the one roof, which may include evidence of:
  • Whether a physical relationship continued during this time;
  • Whether the parties performed domestic services for each other (such as cooking, cleaning, washing)
  • Whether the parties represented to others outside of the relationship that the marriage had ended
  • Whether the parties continued to share a financial relationship
 
None of these factors is individually determinative, rather the Court will assess each case on its merits in light of each of these factors and any other relevant circumstances.
Where separation is interrupted by one or more continuous periods of resumption of a marital relationship of less than 3 months the combined periods of separation may be compounded to reach the 12 month period required for divorce. Where resumption of a marital relationship exceeds 3 months then a 12 month separation will need to occur from the end of that resumption before a divorce will be granted.
 
Call one of our Family Lawyers for free initial telephone advice on your circumstances on 95258688.

Key People

sutherland shire lawyer greg dicksonGreg Dickson 

primary area of practice is litigation. In 1993, he became one of the first solicitors in New South Wales to achieve Accreditation as a Specialist in Family Law and Property Relationships Act Law. Greg is the head of our Family Law Division but also practices extensively in commercial and general litigation ...read more

sutherland shire lawyer kevin dwyerKevin Dwyer 

can advise you upon and conduct all Family Law and De Facto Relationship matters in the Family Courts at Sydney, Wollongong and Parramatta. Kevin can also assist you in Criminal Law and appear in Local Courts all over New South Wales in AVO and criminal proceedings as well as ...read more

Amanda DoringAmanda Doring 

is a Family Law Accredited Specialist with extensive experience drafting binding financial agreements and conducting urgent applications in the Family Court and Federal Magistrate’s Court as well as De Facto proceedings in the Supreme, District and Local Courts ...read more

Lisa O'Leary 

operates predominantly in the area of Family Law and De Facto Relationship dispute resolution in the Family Court, the Federal Magistrates Court, the Local and Supreme Court or by alternative dispute resolution procedures ...read more 

Nicola Morgan 

Nicola joined Warren McKeon Dickson in January 2009 as the recipient of the Warren McKeon Dickson Work Integrated Learning Scholarship offered in conjunction with the University of Wollongong.  ...read more 

 

 

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