You can apply for divorce in Australia if you have been separated for 12 months and either; regard Australia as your home and intend to live here indefinitely, or are an Australian citizen or ordinarily live in Australia and have done so for 12 months before filing for divorce.

A joint application is when you make the application for divorce together with your spouse and you both sign the form and have it filed in court. Attendance is not required at the hearing and the divorce is finalised a little quicker. It does require cooperation. If both applicants hold a concession card, they are entitled to reduced court fees.

A sole application is made by one party and does not require the permission of the other. The form only needs to be signed by the applicant, however once filed in court, a copy of the paperwork must be served on the other party. If there are children to the marriage under the age of 18, the applicant is required to phone into the hearing. If the applicant holds a concession card, they are entitled to reduced court fees.

Full cost $1125. If you hold a government concession card this is reduced to $375.

You are still able to apply for divorce if you have lived or are still living under the one roof with your spouse, so long as you have been separated for at least 12 months and your spouse was aware that final separation started from a particular date. You need to ensure the date of separation cannot be disputed by your spouse. If you have lived with your spouse at any point within the 12 month period before filing the application for divorce, supporting affidavits are required to be filed in court outlining the arrangements and provide evidence of the separation. An affidavit is a written sworn statement that is filed as evidence.

Unfortunately, we can not assist with your application for divorce and you should seek the advice of a family lawyer because you may need to make an additional application to the court seeking that the usual rules for service be set aside.

Approximately 3 – 4 months. The Divorce Assistant will have your application form ready within a few business days, and will lodge it in court once you have signed it in front of a Justice of the Peace. The hearing is ordinarily 4-6 weeks later for joint applications and 8-10 weeks later for sole applications. Once the court has granted the application for divorce, the certificate is made available one month and one day later, at which time the divorce is finalised.

Unfortunately, we cannot assist with your application for divorce, and you should seek the advice of a family lawyer.

You can easily order a copy of your marriage certificate online or in person at the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry in your state?

Service is a legal term whereby the court requires the other party to the application (the Respondent) to be formally provided a copy of the court documents by way of Personal Service, or by Postal Service.

Personal service is when a third party, either someone you know, or a professional process server delivers the court documents to the other party in person. This cannot be done by the applicant of the divorce application. The other party may or may not choose to sign an Acknowledgment of Service form. Regardless, the server will leave a copy in the presence of the other party and they will be considered served.

Alternatively, the court allows you to post a copy of the divorce application to the other party, but they must sign an Acknowledgment of Service form, which confirms they have received the documents.

Once the other party has been successfully served the documents, the server must complete the required court service forms and they must be filed in court.

The Divorce Assistant provides service of documents, however you must know the whereabouts of your ex and be confident they can be served successfully.

Service can occur by post or in person by a process server or other person not party to the application over the age of 18. If your ex has a family lawyer, it may be an option to serve them the paperwork. All court forms relating to service must be complete and filed in court before the hearing date.

You must have the marriage certificate translated by a NATI certified translator and the translator must complete the applicable court affidavits.

The granting of a divorce does not decide issues about finances, property and maintenance or parenting arrangements for your children. These are treated as separate matters. The divorce application finalises the end of the marriage.

Please note that financial/property court proceedings arising from the breakdown of a marriage must be started within 12 months of a divorce order taking effect.