Lawyers-au.com 
Nearly half of all Australian marriages end in separation. And when they do, dividing what was built together is often the hardest part. On 10 June 2025, the most significant overhaul of Australia’s family property law in a generation took effect — the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth). The reforms introduced a codified four-step framework for property settlements, made family violence an explicit factor in financial decisions for the first time, changed how companion animals (your pets) are treated in separations, and elevated the duty of financial disclosure into the Act itself. If you separated before 10 June 2025 and your property matter is not yet finalised, the new law almost certainly applies to your case. Here is what changed, and what it means for you.
10 Jun 2025
Reforms commenced
4 Steps
New property framework
12 months
Deadline (married)
2 years
Deadline (de facto)
📋 Laws and Official Sources
- Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) — Federal Register of Legislation
- Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) — sections 79, 90SM, 79E (companion animals)
- Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia — Family law changes 2025
- Attorney-General’s Department — Fact sheet for separating couples (June 2025)
All references current as at August 2026. Family law is technical and fact-specific — always seek independent legal advice for your circumstances.
Who Is Affected by the June 2025 Changes?
The reforms apply to all separating couples whose property matter had not reached a final hearing by 10 June 2025. This is the key transitional rule, and it catches most people currently going through separation.
If your property settlement was finalised — meaning final orders were made or a binding financial agreement was signed — before 10 June 2025, the new law does not reopen that settlement. The reforms do not operate retrospectively on concluded matters.
If, however, you are currently negotiating, have filed proceedings, or have not yet started the process, the new framework applies to you. This applies to both married couples (proceedings under section 79 of the Family Law Act 1975) and de facto couples (proceedings under section 90SM). The new rules apply across Australia, in every state and territory.
Many separated couples assume that if they reached an informal agreement about property some time ago, the new law cannot affect them. That’s only true if the agreement was formalised — either through Consent Orders filed with the Federal Circuit and Family Court, or through a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA). Informal arrangements, even if documented in writing, are not final property settlements and remain subject to the new framework.
The New Four-Step Framework
Before June 2025, the approach to property settlements was derived from decades of case law — understood by experienced family lawyers but not explicitly stated in legislation. The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 changed that by codifying a four-step process directly into the Family Law Act. This is the same framework that courts already applied, but its expression in statute provides greater clarity and consistency, particularly for those negotiating without going to court.
| Step | What Happens | Key Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 Identify and value the asset pool |
All assets, liabilities, and financial resources of both parties (and sometimes trusts or companies connected to them) are identified and valued as at the date of the hearing or agreement. | The family home, superannuation, savings, investments, business interests, debts. Full and frank disclosure is mandatory. |
| Step 2 Assess contributions |
The court (or parties) consider each person’s contributions — direct and indirect — to the acquisition, conservation, or improvement of the property pool. | Financial contributions (wages, inheritance); non-financial contributions (homemaking, renovation); parenting contributions. Both are treated as significant. |
| Step 3 Assess future needs |
The court considers each party’s current circumstances and likely future needs, to determine whether an adjustment to the contribution-based split is warranted. | Age and health; income-earning capacity; care of children; financial resources available to each party; now explicitly: the economic impact of family violence. |
| Step 4 Just and equitable check |
The court asks whether the proposed order is just and equitable in all the circumstances. This is a final check, not a separate calculation. | The “just and equitable” requirement remains the overarching principle — no order can be made unless it meets this standard. |
Couples negotiating out of court are not required to follow this framework mechanically, but they should understand it because it is the standard a court would apply if their agreement were tested. Any Consent Orders you seek to file with the court must be capable of being justified within this framework.
Family Violence: A New Mandatory Factor
This is perhaps the most significant substantive change in the June 2025 reforms. Before the amendments, family violence could be considered in property settlements — but it was not a listed factor in the legislation, and its relevance was unevenly applied across cases. The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 changed this fundamentally.
The new legislation explicitly mandates that courts consider the economic effects of family violence when assessing:
- Contributions (Step 2) — for example, economic abuse that prevented a partner from building their own financial resources, or violence that disrupted a partner’s ability to contribute financially or through parenting.
- Future circumstances (Step 3) — for example, ongoing safety costs, reduced earning capacity due to trauma or physical injury, or the need to relocate to escape a perpetrator.
This is the first time in Australian family law history that the economic consequences of family violence have been explicitly written into the legislative framework for property settlements. The effect is significant: courts must consider this, not may consider it. A survivor of economic abuse cannot be told their experience is legally irrelevant to the property division.
Economic abuse encompasses a broad range of controlling behaviours: withholding financial information or access to funds; preventing a partner from working; controlling spending to the point of deprivation; running up debts in a partner’s name without consent; and sabotaging employment or career opportunities. All of these can now be relevant to how the property pool is divided.
Companion Animals: What Happens to the Family Pet?
Before June 2025, pets were treated as property under Australian family law — valued at their monetary worth (often negligible for an older rescue dog or cat) and dealt with accordingly. The emotional bond between people and their animals was legally irrelevant.
The 2025 reforms changed this. The legislation now creates a new section (section 79E of the Family Law Act) that applies specifically to “companion animals” — defined as animals kept primarily for the purpose of companionship. This definition excludes:
- Assistance animals (guide dogs, service animals)
- Animals used in a business
- Working or agricultural animals
For companion animals, the court can now consider a broader range of factors beyond monetary value, including:
- Any family violence involved in the relationship
- The attachment of any child of the relationship to the animal
- The ability of each party to care for the animal (including financial ability)
- Any history of animal cruelty
Importantly, the court can now make an order about a companion animal to one party alone — rather than treating it as a shared asset to be valued and offset against other property. This doesn’t give courts unlimited discretion to order exotic pet-custody arrangements; the framework is still property law. But it does mean that saying “the dog is worth $50 so it’s irrelevant” is no longer an adequate analysis.
Elevated Duty of Financial Disclosure
Perhaps the least discussed but practically most important change: the duty of full and frank financial disclosure has been elevated from the Family Law Rules into the Family Law Act itself.
This matters for two reasons:
- Clarity for unrepresented parties: Many Australians go through property settlements without lawyers. Previously, the disclosure obligation was buried in procedural rules — not the Act — making it easy to overlook. Now, the Act itself makes clear that both parties must disclose all assets, liabilities, income, and financial resources, whether or not proceedings are on foot.
- Consequences of non-disclosure are clearer: Non-compliance with a statutory duty (as opposed to a rule) is treated more seriously by courts. Non-disclosure can result in orders being set aside, adverse cost orders, and — in serious cases — findings of contempt.
The elevated disclosure duty, combined with the court’s less adversarial approach to property matters under the reforms, means courts have more tools to investigate suspected non-disclosure. Forensic accountants can be directed earlier in proceedings. If you suspect your former partner is hiding assets — in a company, a trust, offshore, or through understating the value of business interests — these reforms provide more avenues to uncover them.
Separating and Unsure About the New Rules?
The 2025 reforms changed the law that applies to your property settlement. A family law solicitor can assess how the new framework applies to your specific circumstances — including any family violence history — and help you achieve a fair outcome.
De Facto Couples: Same Rules, Different Deadlines
De facto relationships — including same-sex partnerships — are covered by equivalent provisions to married couples under the Family Law Act. The property settlement framework under section 90SM mirrors that under section 79. The June 2025 reforms applied equally to de facto couples, including the family violence provisions, companion animal rules, and the four-step framework.
The critical difference is the time limit. While married couples have 12 months after a divorce order takes effect to apply for property orders, de facto couples must apply within two years of the end of the de facto relationship. Missing this deadline is serious: you must obtain the court’s permission to proceed late, and that permission is not guaranteed.
The end of a de facto relationship is not always obvious — particularly where the parties lived in the same home during a period of separation, or resumed cohabitation briefly. Courts look at the totality of the circumstances. The two-year period runs from the date the relationship actually ended, which may be different from the date one party moved out. If the date is in dispute, this itself can become a legal issue.
Critical Deadlines for Starting a Claim
An application for property settlement or spousal maintenance must generally be made within 12 months after a divorce order takes effect. The divorce order takes effect one month and one day after it is made by the court. Do not confuse the date of separation with the date of divorce — they are different events, often years apart.
An application for property settlement must be made within two years of the relationship ending. Unlike married couples, de facto couples can apply for property orders at any time after separation — they do not need to wait for any equivalent of a divorce. The two-year clock starts from the end of the relationship.
If you miss the applicable time limit, you must apply for the court’s permission (called “leave”) to bring proceedings out of time. The court will consider hardship, the strength of your case, and the reason for the delay. Leave is not automatically granted. This is a costly and uncertain process — meeting the deadline is always preferable.
Case Study: How the New Framework Works in Practice
Scenario: Sarah and David separated after a 12-year marriage in August 2024. They have two children (aged 9 and 7). Sarah stopped working full-time in 2018 to care for the children. During the marriage, David used financial controls — giving Sarah only a small cash allowance, keeping bank accounts in his name only, and incurring credit card debt that Sarah did not know about. Their property includes a family home worth $950,000 (mortgage $320,000), David’s superannuation ($280,000), Sarah’s superannuation ($45,000), and joint savings of $35,000. Their property matter was not finalised before 10 June 2025, so the new framework applies.
| Step | How It Applies to Sarah and David |
|---|---|
| Step 1: Asset pool | Net property pool: $950,000 − $320,000 (mortgage) + $280,000 + $45,000 + $35,000 = $990,000. The credit card debt David incurred (if pre-separation) may be included as a liability. |
| Step 2: Contributions | David contributed financially through his income. Sarah contributed through full-time childcare and homemaking — the new legislation reinforces that this is a genuine contribution. David’s initial deposit from an inheritance may give him a contribution credit for that specific asset. |
| Step 3: Future needs + family violence | Sarah has lower earning capacity after years out of the workforce. She has primary care of the children. Critically under the new law: the economic abuse (restricted access to funds, hidden debt) must now be explicitly considered. This could support a higher adjustment in Sarah’s favour. |
| Step 4: Just and equitable | After applying all factors, a court might reach an outcome of 58–65% in Sarah’s favour — a significant departure from a 50/50 starting point driven by the family violence factor and future needs assessment. |
This is a simplified illustration. Real property settlements involve many more variables — the specific award of each step is highly fact-dependent, and the outcome would require detailed legal analysis. But it demonstrates how the 2025 reforms have given family violence clear legal weight in what is often an economic calculation.
Settling Out of Court — Consent Orders and BFAs
The vast majority of property settlements in Australia are resolved without a final court hearing. The 2025 reforms do not change this — parties are still strongly encouraged to reach agreement through negotiation, mediation, or collaborative law processes. What changes is the framework within which those agreements must operate.
Two formal mechanisms exist for formalising an agreement:
- Consent Orders: Filed with the Federal Circuit and Family Court. The court checks that the proposed orders are just and equitable (using the four-step framework) before approving them. Once made, consent orders have the same force as a court order. They provide legal certainty and finality. For most couples, this is the recommended approach.
- Binding Financial Agreement (BFA): A contract between the parties that deals with property and financial matters. Both parties must have independent legal advice before signing. A BFA does not require court approval but can be set aside by a court in certain circumstances (unconscionable conduct, failure to disclose, significant change in circumstances). They are more flexible but less predictable.
An informal written agreement between you and your former partner — even signed and witnessed — does not provide legal certainty. Your former partner can still apply to a court for property orders. Formalising your agreement is always worth the cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the new family law apply if I separated before 10 June 2025?
Yes, if your property matter had not yet reached a final hearing by 10 June 2025, the new Family Law Amendment Act 2024 applies to your proceedings. The only exception is if a final hearing had already commenced before that date. The new law applies to both new and existing proceedings — it is not limited to separations that occurred after June 2025.
What is the “four-step framework” for property settlement?
The four-step framework — now codified in the Family Law Act — involves: (1) identifying and valuing the total asset pool; (2) assessing each party’s contributions (financial, non-financial, parenting); (3) assessing future needs and circumstances (including, under the new law, the economic impact of family violence); and (4) checking that the proposed outcome is just and equitable. Courts and parties negotiating outside court must apply this framework.
How does family violence affect property settlement under the new law?
For the first time, the Family Law Act explicitly mandates that courts consider the economic effects of family violence when making property orders. This applies at both the contributions assessment (Step 2) and the future needs assessment (Step 3). It means that economic abuse — controlling finances, preventing work, running up hidden debts — can directly influence the percentage of the property pool each party receives.
Who gets the dog (or cat) after separation?
Under the 2025 reforms, companion animals (pets kept primarily for companionship) are treated differently from ordinary property. A court can now consider the attachment of children to the animal, history of animal cruelty, each party’s ability to care for the animal, and any family violence, when deciding who receives the pet. Courts can award a companion animal to one party outright, without treating it purely as a monetary asset to offset.
What is the time limit to make a property claim after separation?
For married couples, the deadline is 12 months after a divorce order takes effect. For de facto couples, it is two years from the end of the de facto relationship. Missing these deadlines means you must seek the court’s permission to proceed — which is not guaranteed and involves additional cost. If you are approaching the deadline, seek legal advice immediately.
Do de facto couples have the same property rights as married couples?
Yes, under Australian federal family law. The property settlement provisions for de facto couples (section 90SM) mirror those for married couples (section 79), including the June 2025 reforms. The main practical differences are the time limits (two years vs 12 months post-divorce) and proving that the de facto relationship existed and when it ended — something that can itself become contentious.
What is a Binding Financial Agreement and is it safer than Consent Orders?
A Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) is a private contract — it does not require court approval. Both parties must receive independent legal advice before signing. A BFA can be set aside by a court in certain circumstances, including non-disclosure of assets, fraud, unconscionable conduct, or a significant change in circumstances affecting a party and any children. Consent Orders, by contrast, are approved by a court applying the just and equitable test, giving them greater legal certainty. For most people, Consent Orders are the safer option.
What happens if my former partner hides assets?
The elevated duty of disclosure under the 2025 reforms means your former partner is obligated by statute (not just rules) to disclose all assets, liabilities, income, and financial resources. If you suspect hidden assets — in a company, a trust, offshore, or through an undervalued business interest — a family law solicitor can apply for court orders requiring disclosure, subpoena third parties (such as banks), or engage a forensic accountant. Non-disclosure can result in orders being set aside, adverse cost orders, and in serious cases, contempt of court.
What These Changes Actually Mean
The June 2025 reforms did not invent a new approach to property settlements. They codified and clarified an approach that courts had been applying for decades — and they finally gave legal voice to experiences that had always mattered in practice but were never written into the Act. The recognition of family violence and economic abuse as explicit legal factors is the most consequential change. It tells the legal system — and separating couples — that the financial consequences of coercive and controlling behaviour are now formally part of the calculation.
For most Australians navigating separation, the practical message is this: get legal advice, understand the four steps, meet your disclosure obligations, and meet the deadlines. The law is clearer now than it has ever been. That clarity works for you — if you use it.
Need Help With a Property Settlement?
The 2025 reforms apply to most current property matters. An experienced family law solicitor can guide you through the four-step framework, advise on how family violence may affect your outcome, and help you reach a fair resolution — in or out of court.
Sources
- Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) — Federal Register of Legislation
- Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), ss 79, 79E, 90SM — Federal Register of Legislation
- Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, “Family law (property) changes from 10 June 2025”
- Attorney-General’s Department, Fact sheet for separating couples (June 2025)
This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. Family law is highly fact-specific — the outcome of any property settlement depends on your particular circumstances. The law described was current as at August 2026 but is subject to change. For advice about your situation, consult a qualified family law solicitor. For urgent assistance, contact the Family Relationship Advice Line on 1800 050 321.