Splitting Superannuation After Divorce in Australia: Form 6, 28-Day Notice & Consent Orders

Superannuation is legally treated as property under Parts VIIIB and VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975 — it can be split between separating spouses just like a house or bank account. But unlike selling a house, splitting super follows a rigid, multi-step process where skipping one step invalidates the entire order.

Step 1: Get the Valuation (Form 6)

Before you can agree on how to divide super, you need to know what each fund is worth. Submit a Form 6 Declaration and Information Request to each fund's trustee. The fund is legally required to provide valuation information in response.

For accumulation funds (the most common type), the valuation is straightforward — it's the current account balance plus any unvested employer contributions.

For defined benefit schemes, the valuation requires an actuary to calculate the present value of future pension entitlements under the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2025. Public sector schemes common in Tasmania — like the State Authorities Superannuation Scheme (SASS) or Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) schemes — are particularly complex because there's no simple account balance. Request the fund's specific family law information kit, which outlines how their scheme handles splitting.

Step 2: Draft the Consent Orders

Once you have valuations, decide on the split. You can divide by a base dollar amount or by percentage. Draft consent orders that specify exactly how each fund should be split — which fund, what amount or percentage, and where the transferred portion should be paid (a new account or the receiving spouse's existing fund).

The court filing fee for consent orders is $215 at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA).

Step 3: The 28-Day Procedural Fairness Notice

This is where most DIY applications go wrong. Before the court issues your final consent orders, you must serve the draft splitting orders on each superannuation fund trustee and give them a minimum of 28 days to review and object.

If you skip this step or don't wait the full 28 days, the Court may be unable to make the orders, and an order made without the required procedural fairness may be unenforceable against the trustee.

Serve the notice formally (registered post or the fund's nominated method) and keep proof of the service date.

Step 4: File and Serve the Final Order

After the 28-day notice period passes without objection (or with any objections resolved), file the consent orders with the FCFCOA. Once the court grants the orders, serve a sealed copy on each fund trustee.

The trustee then executes the split — either creating a new interest within the fund for the receiving spouse or rolling the allocated amount into the receiving spouse's nominated fund.

Defined Benefit Complications

Defined benefit funds don't work like accumulation funds when it comes to splitting. The trustee can't just transfer a dollar amount out of a defined benefit pension — instead, the split typically reduces the member's future pension entitlement and creates a separate benefit for the receiving spouse.

For CSC schemes (common among federal public servants in Tasmania), the fund may require an actuarial certificate before processing the split. Processing times for defined benefit splits are significantly longer than accumulation splits — plan for 3–6 months rather than weeks.

Binding Financial Agreements as an Alternative

If you and your ex-spouse agree on the super split without going through the court, you can use a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) instead of consent orders. Both parties must receive independent legal advice, and the BFA must comply with the same procedural fairness requirements — the fund trustee still gets their 28-day notice period.

The 12-Month Time Limit

Once your divorce is final, you have 12 months to file for property settlement (including super splitting) with the FCFCOA. After that window closes, you need the court's special leave to proceed — and it's not guaranteed.

The Tasmania After-Divorce Checklist walks through the complete superannuation splitting process with a timeline tracker for each notice period and filing deadline.

See more Tasmania guides →