In Australia, divorce is the legal process for bringing a marriage to an end. A divorce may be obtained either from the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court.
In order to grant a divorce, the Court must be satisfied of the following:
- That the parties are validly married;
- That there has been an irretrievable breakdown in the marriage which is evidenced by 12 months separation;
- That the Court has jurisdiction to grant the divorce by finding that one or both of the parties are either:
- An Australian citizen;
- An Australian resident;
- Are domiciled in Australia by having lived here for the 12 months prior to the filing of the Application, or consider Australia home.
- That the Application has been properly served or the Court is otherwise satisfied that the other party is aware of the Application and the date on which it is to proceed; and
- That there are satisfactory arrangements in place for any children of the marriage or that appropriate steps are being taken to put such arrangements in place.
Divorce Applications in Australia are filed with the Federal Circuit Court (Federal Magistrates Court) and heard at first instance by a Registrar of that Court.
Upon the Court becoming satisfied of the points set out above, it will grant an order for Divorce. That order does not take immediate effect, but becomes final one month after the order is made. The Court will then send out a Certificate of Divorce.
NQ Legal handles Applications for Divorce on a fixed fee basis so that you can be certain of the cost of the Divorce Application and your legal representation.
If you would like any further information in relation to Divorce Applications please contact Melanie Mullins on (07) 4721 0488.
Please contact us to find out more or to discuss our fixed fees and disbursements.
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