June 2025 – Rosemary Saad
From Divorce to Dogs: Australia’s Family Law Gets a Modern Makeover
Extensive and generational changes to Australia’s family law system officially commenced on Tuesday 10 June 2025.
The amendments affect key areas of the law, including:
- Divorce
- Property division
- Maintenance
- Financial disclosure, and
- Companion animals
Read on for a brief summary of the most important changes:
Simplified Divorce Process
Obtaining a Divorce has been simplified.
No hearing is required for a sole application (even if children under 18 are involved) unless the other party objects.
The requirement to obtain a counselling certificate for marriages of under two years has been removed.
Let us know if you’d like specialised advice or assistance on these changes.
Property Division
A “pathway” has now been written into the legislation. This means that the court must first identify each party’s legal and equitable interests before considering contributions and future needs. This can be very important to a claim.
Family violence is now a mandatory consideration in all property matters, reflecting its serious financial and emotional impact.
Additional factors that a court must now consider include:
- Family violence: Acknowledging how it affects financial capacity and contributions.
- Children’s housing needs: Giving priority to stable housing for children after separation.
- Reckless wastage: Where one party has deliberately or recklessly reduced the value of assets.
- Liabilities: Looking closely at how debts were incurred and by whom.
Spousal Maintenance
In line with the property division changes, the court must now take the effect of family violence into account when deciding on maintenance (spousal support).
The amendments highlight the need for spousal support payments to reflect the financial harm caused by family violence.
Financial Disclosure
Full and frank disclosure is now clearly required from the pre-action stage through to finalisation, that is from before any proceedings are commenced in Court until they conclude.
Companion Animals
For the first time, “companion animals” are specifically recognised in the law.
The court can now make orders about pets, including who keeps them, or whether they should be sold or transferred.
However, pets are not treated like children, and you cannot ask for “spend time” arrangements.
These reforms are designed to streamline the process, improve fairness, and better reflect the realities of modern family life.
If you’re unsure how these changes might affect you, contact the family law team at Harris Freidman today. We’re here to help you with every step with clarity and confidence.