Tasmania Divorce Residency Requirements

You do not need to be a Tasmanian resident to file for divorce in Tasmania — but at least one party must have a sufficient connection to Australia. Here is exactly what the law requires.

The Three Jurisdictional Tests

Under Section 39(3) of the Family Law Act 1975, the court will accept your divorce application if at least one of you (applicant or respondent) meets any one of these three criteria at the time of filing:

1. Australian citizenship. If either party is an Australian citizen — by birth, descent, or grant — the jurisdictional requirement is met. Citizens by grant must upload a scanned copy of their Australian Citizenship Certificate to the Commonwealth Courts Portal.

2. Domicile in Australia. If either party regards Australia as their permanent home and intends to live here indefinitely, this satisfies the test. Domicile is about intention, not just physical presence — a person temporarily working overseas can still be domiciled in Australia if they consider it home.

3. Ordinary residence. If either party ordinarily lives in Australia and has done so continuously for at least 12 months immediately before the application date, this meets the requirement. Non-citizens must upload passport and visa documentation proving their arrival in Australia at least one year prior to filing.

You only need to satisfy one of these three criteria, and only one party needs to meet it.

Common Situations

Married overseas, now living in Tasmania. If you were married in another country but have been living in Australia for at least 12 months, you can file for divorce here. You will need your overseas marriage certificate — and if it is not in English, it must be translated by a NAATI-certified translator and filed alongside an Affidavit of Translation.

One spouse lives overseas. If you are an Australian citizen or have lived here for 12 months, you can file for divorce in Tasmania even if your spouse is still overseas. You will need to file a sole application and serve the papers internationally (42 days before the hearing instead of the standard 28).

Both spouses left Australia. If neither party currently lives in Australia, at least one must be an Australian citizen to file here. Being a former resident alone is not sufficient — the ordinary residence test requires continuous residence for the 12 months preceding the application.

Temporary visa holders. If you are on a temporary visa and have lived in Australia continuously for 12 months, you satisfy the ordinary residence test. The type of visa does not matter — the test is about continuous physical presence, not visa class.

Which Registry to Choose

When completing Part F of the application, you select either the Hobart or Launceston registry. This is a practical choice, not a legal one — both registries apply the same federal law. Choose the one closest to where you live. If you are in the north-west of Tasmania, the court sometimes schedules circuit sittings in Burnie, but your application still goes through either Hobart or Launceston.

What You Need to Upload

Depending on which jurisdictional test you rely on:

• Citizenship: Scanned Australian Citizenship Certificate (if by grant)
• Ordinary residence: Passport pages showing entry date, visa documentation
• Marriage certificate: Official copy from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or equivalent overseas authority. Tasmanian replacement certificates cost A$68.31.

The Tasmania Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a document assembly checklist with the specific scanning specifications required by the Commonwealth Courts Portal — file format, size limits, and naming conventions.

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