In most parenting matters, yes. You generally need a section 60I certificate from an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner before you can file. Exemptions apply, including urgency, family violence, child abuse, and where a party cannot genuinely participate. Property matters also have pre-action procedure requirements.

Since 10 June 2025 the framework is set out directly in the Family Law Act. The court identifies the assets and liabilities, considers each party’s contributions, considers their current and future circumstances, and then asks whether the proposed division is just and equitable. There is no starting presumption of a 50/50 split.

Yes, this is now written expressly into the Act. Since 10 June 2025 the court must consider the economic effect of family violence when assessing contributions and future circumstances. Financial abuse is specifically recognised, including controlling access to money, building up debt in a partner’s name, and hiding assets.

It is your continuing legal duty to give the other party all relevant financial information and documents, income, assets, liabilities, trusts, company interests, and any disposal of property. Since June 2025 this duty appears in the Family Law Act itself. Hiding assets can lead to costs orders, orders being set aside, and contempt findings.

For married couples, 12 months from the date the divorce becomes final. For de facto couples, two years from the date of separation. After that you need the court’s permission to apply, which is not guaranteed. Separating alone does not start the 12-month clock, the divorce order does.

Since 10 June 2025 the court can make specific orders about companion animals rather than treating them as ordinary property. It considers who cares for the animal, the attachment of each party and any children, any history of cruelty, and whether the animal has been used to threaten or control a partner.

An interim hearing produces temporary orders that apply until the case is finally decided. It is usually short, decided on affidavit evidence rather than oral testimony, and the judge cannot resolve contested facts. Interim orders are not a prediction of the final outcome, but they do set the practical arrangements for months.

Yes, but not easily where final orders already exist. The court will generally only reconsider final parenting orders if there has been a significant change of circumstances and reconsideration is in the child’s best interests. Interim and consent orders are easier to vary, particularly by agreement.

Yes. Urgent injunctions and asset preservation orders are available where there is a real risk that property will be sold, transferred, mortgaged or moved offshore. In genuinely urgent cases these applications can be made without notice to the other party, and speed matters.

The court has strong tools. It can order specific disclosure, issue subpoenas to banks, accountants and employers, draw adverse inferences against the person hiding assets, add back or set aside transactions, and make costs orders. Non-disclosure discovered later can also be a basis to set aside final orders.

Yes, where you can identify a legal or discretionary error, an appeal is not a second chance to re-argue the facts. Appeals generally must be filed within 28 days of the order, and permission is needed for some interim decisions. Get advice on prospects first, because unsuccessful appeals attract costs.

The usual position is that each party pays their own costs. But the court can order otherwise, taking into account the parties’ financial circumstances, whether a party’s conduct or non-disclosure caused wasted costs, whether orders were complied with, and any settlement offers made. Non-disclosure is a common trigger for a costs order.