Post-Divorce Checklist Tasmania: What to Do After Your Divorce Is Final

Your divorce order becomes final one month and one day after the court grants it (unless the Court makes a special order), and the digital order becomes available on the Commonwealth Courts Portal the day after finalisation. The court does not split your bank accounts, change your name, update your will, or notify Centrelink. Every one of those tasks is yours, and the order they happen in matters.

Week 1: Download Your Divorce Order and Notify Government

Download the finalised divorce order from the Commonwealth Courts Portal immediately — some later steps require a certified copy, while others accept the official digital order.

Centrelink and Services Australia — Notify them of your relationship change within 14 days. Missing this deadline can trigger debt recovery if you're receiving Family Tax Benefit, single parent payments, or other income-tested benefits. Update through myGov or call the Services Australia line.

Medicare — Complete an MS011 form to remove your ex-spouse from your Medicare card (or to get yourself a new card). Updating Medicare does not automatically update Centrelink or Child Support — each requires separate notification.

Week 2: Name Changes and Identity Documents

If you're reverting to your maiden name, you don't need a formal BDM name change. Your marriage certificate and divorce order are enough for most agencies. Read the full name change process for Tasmania before spending $244.71 on something you may not need.

Update in this order: BDM first (if doing a formal change), then driver licence at Service Tasmania (within 14 days), then passport, then banks and remaining accounts.

Month 1: Financial Separation

Joint bank accounts — Contact your bank to place a joint-signature restriction on shared accounts so neither party can make unilateral withdrawals. Redirect payroll to your sole account. Audit and redirect all direct debits.

Credit cards — Cancel secondary cardholder access to stop new liabilities. Pay off joint balances and close the accounts permanently.

Health insurance — Joint couple policies cannot be maintained across separate households. Contact your fund to split to individual cover. If your income exceeds $101,000 in 2025/26 ($105,000 in 2026/27) and you do not maintain individual hospital cover, you may be liable for the Medicare Levy Surcharge at tax time.

Months 1–3: Property and Title Transfers

Property transfer — Get certified consent orders or a Binding Financial Agreement first. Then lodge the stamp duty exemption with the State Revenue Office (Section 56 of the Duties Act 2001 — saves up to 4.5% of market value). Then register the Transfer of Land with the Land Titles Office through PEXA or TOLD. Since February 2026, paper-based filings are no longer accepted — you'll need a registered conveyancer or solicitor.

Motor vehicles — Apply to the SRO for a duty exemption letter before going to Service Tasmania. Unlike property transfers, vehicle transfers need written SRO approval first.

Mortgage — If the property has an active mortgage, the remaining party must refinance in their sole name before the title can transfer. The bank won't release the departing spouse until a new loan contract is executed.

Months 1–6: Superannuation and Estate Planning

Superannuation splitting — This is a multi-step process: submit Form 6 to the fund trustee for a valuation, draft consent orders, serve a 28-day procedural fairness notice on the trustee, then file with the court. Missing the 28-day notice makes the splitting order unenforceable.

Update your will — Under the Wills Act 2008 (TAS), divorce automatically revokes gifts and appointments naming your ex-spouse, but the rest of the will stands. If your ex was the primary beneficiary, those lapsed portions fall to intestacy rules — which may not match what you want. Get a new will drafted.

Enduring Power of Attorney — Divorce does not automatically revoke an EPA or Enduring Guardianship in Tasmania. If your ex-spouse holds these powers, you need to execute a formal revocation or your ex retains authority over your finances and medical decisions.

Beneficiaries — Update binding death benefit nominations on your super fund. A will does not override a super fund BDBN. Also update beneficiaries on life insurance and any other policies.

The 12-Month Clock

Once your divorce order is final, you have exactly 12 months to apply to the FCFCOA for property settlement or spousal maintenance. Miss this deadline and you'll need special leave from the court to proceed — which is not guaranteed.

The Tasmania After-Divorce Checklist walks through every task in chronological order with the exact forms, fees, and agency contacts for each step.

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