De Facto Property Settlement

De Facto Property Settlements

The Family Law Act 1975 Commonwealth provides for property settlement for people who have been in a de facto relationship (except WA), including same-sex relationships.

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How Can You Complete a De Facto Property Settlement?

There are four primary ways you can complete a de facto property settlement:

1. An informal separation, which lacks many of the legal protections available under Australian law.

2. By way of a Binding Financial Agreement.

3. By way of a joint Application for Consent Orders through the Family Court of Australia.

4. By bringing proceedings in a court that can hear proceedings in the family law jurisdiction and have a judge decide your property settlement.

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If you were in a de facto relationship and separated after 1 March 2009 (1 July 2010 in SA), the following rules apply:

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To apply for a court application for de facto property settlement you must:

1. Have been in a relationship for at least a total period of 2 years or have a child of the relationship or have made substantial contributions which would be unfair not to have the contributions recognised or the relationship has been registered in a state or territory; and

2. The parties have been in one of the states or territories of Australia (except WA) for at least one-third of the relationship or have made substantial contributions.

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An alternative to a court application is a de facto property settlement by way of a binding financial agreement or financial agreement.  There is no time limit for financial agreements, however, both parties must consent to the property settlement.

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