Consent Orders and Property Settlement After Divorce in Australia

Your divorce order ends the marriage. It does not divide property, split superannuation, or formalise spousal maintenance. Those are separate legal steps — and they come with a strict deadline that many people miss.

The 12-Month Deadline

Once your divorce order takes effect (one month and one day after the hearing), a 12-month countdown begins. You must file any application for property settlement or spousal maintenance orders within that 12-month window.

If you miss it, you lose your automatic right to apply. Getting permission from the court to file late requires proving hardship — a high bar that is rarely cleared. This deadline is not flexible, and no reminder is sent.

For de facto relationships, the equivalent deadline is two years from the date of separation (not from any court order).

Consent Orders vs. Binding Financial Agreements

There are two ways to formalise your property and financial arrangements. Both are legally enforceable, but they work differently.

Consent Orders

Consent orders are agreements approved and sealed by the Federal Circuit and Family Court. You and your spouse draft the terms, submit an Application for Consent Orders (A$215 filing fee), and the court reviews them to ensure they are "just and equitable."

The court's review adds a layer of protection — if the agreement is manifestly unfair to one party, the court can refuse to make the orders. Once approved, consent orders are enforceable as court orders. Breaching them carries legal penalties.

Binding Financial Agreements (BFAs)

A BFA is a private contract between the parties. It does not require court approval. However, both parties must receive independent legal advice from separate lawyers, and each lawyer must sign a certificate confirming they provided that advice.

BFAs are more flexible than consent orders — you can include terms the court might not approve — but they are also more vulnerable to being set aside if the legal advice requirements were not properly followed.

What Gets Divided

Australian family law does not apply an automatic 50/50 split. Under Section 79 of the Family Law Act 1975, the court uses a four-step process:

1. Identify and value all assets, liabilities, and financial resources — whether held jointly or individually
2. Assess contributions — direct financial contributions (income, inheritances), indirect financial contributions, and non-financial contributions (homemaking, parenting)
3. Evaluate future needs — age, health, earning capacity, care of children
4. Just and equitable check — a final review to ensure the overall outcome is fair

Both parties have a strict duty of full and frank financial disclosure. Concealing assets can result in agreements being overturned years later, with severe cost penalties.

Superannuation Splitting

Superannuation is treated as a type of property under family law and can be split between spouses. The process requires:

• A valuation of each party's super balances
• Agreement on how to divide them (either through consent orders or a BFA)
• A procedural fairness step — notifying the super fund trustee before the court makes orders

Superannuation splitting is handled within the same consent orders application or BFA. It does not require a separate filing.

Acting Before the Divorce

You do not have to wait until after the divorce to formalise property arrangements. Many couples finalise consent orders or a BFA before or during the divorce process, which avoids the pressure of the 12-month post-divorce deadline.

The ACT Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a post-divorce action tracker that maps every deadline — including the 12-month property settlement window — so nothing falls through the cracks after your divorce order takes effect.

See more Australian Capital Territory guides →