Divorce Lawyers in Melbourne

The 12-month rule, and why the date matters

You can apply for divorce once you have been separated for 12 months. That is the only ground. Australia is a no-fault system, so the court does not ask who was to blame, only whether the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

The separation date matters more than most people realise. It starts the 12-month clock for the divorce, and once the divorce order takes effect it starts a second clock: you have 12 months to commence property proceedings. If you and your former spouse disagree about when you separated, that dispute can cost you real money later. We help you pin the date down with evidence now, while it is still fresh.

If you are unsure where you stand, call 1800 130 120. The first call is free and you will get a straight answer on whether you can file yet and what to do if you cannot.

Separated under the same roof? You can still apply

Plenty of Melbourne couples separate but keep living in the same house because of the mortgage, the children, or the rental market. The court accepts separation under one roof, but you must prove it with an affidavit covering how the living arrangements changed: separate bedrooms, separate finances, no longer attending family events as a couple. We draft these affidavits regularly and know what the registrars expect to see.

Two other traps catch people out. If you were married less than two years, you need a counselling certificate before you can file, unless an exemption applies. And if you were married overseas, you can still divorce here provided one of you is an Australian citizen, regards Australia as your permanent home, or has ordinarily lived here for the past 12 months. Neither issue will stop a divorce going through, though either can add weeks to it if nobody picks it up early.

Sole or joint application

A joint application is the smooth path. You file together, nobody has to serve documents, and if there are no children under 18 neither of you attends the hearing.

A sole application works when your former spouse will not cooperate or cannot be found. You file alone and the documents must be served on the other party. If they are avoiding service, or you genuinely cannot locate them, the court can order substituted service or dispense with it. If you have children under 18, you or your lawyer must attend the short divorce hearing so the court can confirm proper arrangements exist for them. We appear so you do not have to take the morning off work.

A divorce order ends the marriage without dividing a single dollar

The divorce order is one narrow legal step. Your house, your superannuation and your parenting arrangements are separate matters with their own deadlines, and the divorce order actually starts the property one. On a free first call we map the whole picture: when you can file, whether a sole or joint application fits, and where your property settlement should land. By the end of it you will know what the next step is and roughly when it happens.

Talk to a divorce lawyer today

What a divorce actually costs

The court charges a filing fee of just under $1,200, or under $400 if you hold an eligible concession card or can show financial hardship. For a joint application, both of you must qualify for the reduced fee or the full fee applies.

Beyond the court’s fee, cost turns on how clean your application is. A cooperative joint application is the smallest job there is in family law. Service problems, a former spouse who cannot be found, or a fight over the separation date all add work, and spotting them early is what keeps them small. We scope your divorce, complications and all, in the free first call.

After the order: two deadlines start running

The divorce order takes effect one month and one day after it is made. From that date you have 12 months to start property or spousal maintenance proceedings. Miss it and you need the court’s permission to proceed, which is not guaranteed.

This is where people get hurt. They handle the divorce as a form-filling exercise, shake hands on the assets, and discover a year later that the handshake means nothing. There is a grimmer version too: if your former spouse dies with the property side still open, the money moves into their estate, and a former spouse who could still have brought family law proceedings is on the eligibility list for family provision claims. Before you file, read our plain-language divorce settlement guide or ask us to look over what you have agreed. Our family lawyers can turn a fair handshake into enforceable consent orders before either side drifts.

Talk to a Melbourne divorce lawyer today

Whether you want the divorce done cleanly, your former spouse is refusing to cooperate, or you have been served and do not know what response is needed, call 1800 130 120 or use the form on this page. We answer evenings and weekends, and the first conversation costs nothing.