Cheap Divorce NSW: How to Keep Costs Under $1,200

The cheapest possible divorce in NSW costs $390. The next cheapest costs $1,170. There's no middle ground — those are the only two fee levels the Federal Circuit and Family Court charges, and no amount of shopping around changes them.

What does change your total cost is everything around that fee: whether you hire a lawyer, how you handle document service, and whether filing errors force you to pay the fee twice. Here's how to keep the total as low as possible.

The Two Filing Fee Tiers

Standard fee: $1,170. This is what most people pay. It covers the application, the court hearing, and the Divorce Order.

Concession fee: $390. You qualify if you hold a current Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. For sole applications, only the applicant needs the card. For joint applications, both parties must hold eligible cards — if only one of you qualifies, you pay the full $1,170.

You can also apply for a fee reduction on financial hardship grounds even without a concession card, but you'll need to provide evidence of your financial situation to the court.

DIY Filing vs. Hiring a Lawyer

Hiring a family lawyer for an uncontested divorce in NSW typically costs $1,200–$1,500 on top of the court filing fee. Online divorce services like Divorce Without a Lawyer charge $349, and Simple Separation charges $499–$699. These services fill out the portal forms for you, but you still pay the $1,170 court fee separately.

The DIY path costs nothing beyond the court fee. The FCFCOA's Commonwealth Courts Portal is free to use, and Justices of the Peace witness your affidavits at no charge. The trade-off is that you're responsible for getting every document, upload, and deadline right — and mistakes can mean restarting the entire application with another $1,170 payment.

Where DIY Costs Add Up

Even a fully DIY divorce has some costs beyond the filing fee:

Marriage certificate replacement. If you've lost your original, a replacement from NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages costs about $58. If you married interstate, each state has its own registry and fee.

Translation. If your marriage certificate is in a language other than English, you need a NAATI-accredited translation ($50–$80).

Process server. Sole applications require formal service on your spouse through an independent third party. A professional process server in Sydney charges $100–$300. You can avoid this entirely by filing a joint application instead — no service required.

Postage. If you serve papers by post, you'll need the cost of a registered letter plus a stamped return envelope for the signed acknowledgment.

The Cheapest Path: Joint Application

If your spouse is willing to cooperate, a joint application is the cheapest route by a significant margin:

• No process server needed (saving $100–$300)
• Neither party needs to attend the hearing
• If you both hold concession cards, the fee drops to $390
• No risk of a contested response adding legal costs

A joint application with concession cards can bring your total divorce cost to under $400 — the lowest it gets anywhere in Australia.

How to Avoid Paying the Filing Fee Twice

The court doesn't refund fees for rejected applications. The most common mistakes that trigger rejection:

1. Wrong marriage certificate — uploading a celebrant or church certificate instead of an official government certificate
2. Separation date miscalculation — filing one day too early (it's 12 months and one day, not just 12 months)
3. Unsigned eFiling affidavit — forgetting to print, sign before a JP, scan, and re-upload before payment
4. Joint concession mismatch — one party has a concession card but the other doesn't, and you selected the reduced fee anyway

Each of these errors means starting over with a fresh $1,170 payment.

For a step-by-step DIY filing sequence that catches these errors before they cost you, the New South Wales Divorce Filing Process Guide covers every portal screen and document requirement.

See more New South Wales guides →