The court fee is $1,170. A filing mistake can cost you that — and months of delay. This guide makes sure you file it right the first time.
You've waited the twelve months. You're ready to file. Then you open the Commonwealth Courts Portal and hit a wall of questions — Part A through Part F, affidavits that need a Justice of the Peace, sealed documents, service rules you didn't know existed. One wrong answer and your application stalls. One missed service deadline and your hearing gets adjourned. The court doesn't refund confusion.
The South Australia Divorce Filing Process Guide is a Chronological Filing Roadmap — not a pile of blank forms (the court gives those away free), but the actual sequence: what to do first, what to do next, and what the portal, the registry, and the law expect at each step. It's built for people filing without a lawyer, in plain language, with South Australia's state agencies — Consumer and Business Services for your marriage certificate, Service SA for your licence — woven into the federal court process where they actually belong.
What's inside
- The Chronological Portal Map — every screen of the Commonwealth Courts Portal in order, from registering your account to locking the application, printing the Affidavit for eFiling, getting it witnessed by a JP, uploading, and paying. Because the portal doesn't tell you what comes next — this does.
- Eligibility and Separation-Date Worksheets — confirm you meet the residency rules and calculate your earliest legal filing date down to the day, so you never file a week early and have to start over.
- The Separated-Under-One-Roof Affidavit Planner — if you and your spouse still share a home, the court needs sworn evidence the marriage really ended. This planner walks you through what to write — sleeping arrangements, finances, household duties, who you've told — and how to get a corroborating affidavit from a friend, relative, or neighbour.
- The Fee Reduction Walkthrough — how to pay $390 instead of $1,170 with a Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, or a financial hardship application — including the trap that catches joint applicants: both spouses must qualify, or you both pay full price.
- The Sole Application Service Toolkit — you are legally prohibited from serving the papers yourself. This covers service by post and by hand, the 28-day deadline (42 days overseas), every service form, and what to do when your spouse is uncooperative or missing — substituted service and dispensation of service, with the search-effort log the court wants to see.
- Post-June 2025 Rule Updates — married less than two years? The old counselling-certificate requirement was repealed on 10 June 2025. Much of what's online still says otherwise. This guide reflects the law as it stands now.
- The After-Divorce Deadline Map — your Divorce Order starts a strict twelve-month countdown to settle property and spousal maintenance. Miss it and you'll need the court's special permission. Plus the SA-specific identity updates: name reversion through Consumer and Business Services and your licence through Service SA.
Who it's for
This guide is for you if you're filing for divorce in South Australia without a lawyer — whether you're filing jointly with a cooperative spouse, filing alone against one who won't sign anything, separated but still under one roof, or simply staring at the portal wondering which button comes first. If your situation involves contested property, parenting disputes, or family violence, the guide tells you plainly where self-help ends and a lawyer begins.
Why not just use the free forms?
The court's website has every form, free. It also assumes you already know the process. Blank forms tell you what to fill in — they don't tell you that you can't serve your own spouse, that a joint application needs both parties to qualify for the fee reduction, that a marriage certificate from CBS takes time to arrive, or that filing before your separation hits twelve months and one day gets your application rejected. Free legal helplines give general advice but won't walk you through the portal. Online document services charge $499 and up to generate forms that were already free. Adelaide family lawyers charge $1,200 to $1,500 for an uncontested filing. This guide gives you the one thing none of the free options do: the correct sequence, start to finish, for .
Our guarantee
If the guide doesn't make the process clearer, email us within 30 days for a full refund. No forms to fill in, no questions asked.
Get started
Download the free South Australia Divorce Filing Quick-Start Checklist to see the full process on one page — or get the complete guide now and file with confidence, knowing every step is covered before the court fee leaves your account.