The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 introduces major changes to Australia’s Family Law Act 1975, most of which will take effect from 10 June 2025. These reforms aim to make family law clearer, more accessible—especially for people without a lawyer—and more responsive to issues like family violence.
Key Goals of the Changes
- Make Family Law Easier to Understand The new law puts into writing (or “codifies”) many of the court principles that judges already use in dividing property. This is especially helpful for people representing themselves, or for anyone dealing with complex challenges like family violence or mental health issues.
- Acknowledge the Impact of Family Violence on Finances The law now clearly states that the financial effects of family violence should be taken into account when deciding how property is divided after separation.
What’s Changing in Property Settlements?
The major changes in how property is divided after a marriage or de facto relationship ends are:
- Clearer Process: The law lays out more clearly how property matters should be handled in court.
- Including Debts: Courts must now consider each party’s liabilities (debts), not just their assets (although that was something that the court already previously did).
- Pets Recognised as Property: Pets (called “companion animals”) are officially treated as property, with special rules to decide who keeps them.
- Economic Abuse Recognised: The law now defines and recognises financial abuse (e.g. controlling a partner’s money).
- Family Violence Matters: Courts must consider how violence affected each person’s ability to contribute to the relationship or to recover financially.
- Future Needs Updated: The law simplifies the list of factors courts use to assess someone’s current and future financial needs.
- Duty to Disclose: Parties must share full financial details—this duty is now written into the main law, not just the Rules.
- Wider Use of Arbitration: More types of financial disputes can now be resolved through arbitration rather than court.
Special Rules About Pets
For the first time, the law creates specific rules about pets after separation. To you, perhaps pet is family. According to family law rules, a pet is considered a “companion animal” if it was kept mainly for companionship (not for work or business). With the new changes to the Family Law Act, Family Law Courts can now look at things like:
- Who bought or cared for the pet
- Any abuse or neglect of the animal by a party
- Any attachment a child or partner has to the pet
Only two legal outcomes are allowed: one person keeps the pet, or it’s sold.
Understanding the New Property Framework
While the court’s approach is now more clearly written into the law, it doesn’t follow a strict “four-step” process (like past cases have). Instead, it sets out three key steps:
- Identify all property and debts each person owns.
- Consider each person’s contributions (e.g. income, home duties).
- Look at future needs (e.g. children’s housing, health, income needs).
The law still requires that any outcome must be “just and equitable”—in other words, fair in all the circumstances.
Family Violence and Property Division
The law now clearly acknowledges that violence in a relationship can have serious financial consequences. For example:
- A person who experienced abuse may have been prevented from working or managing finances.
- Courts now consider these impacts when dividing assets or deciding on spousal maintenance.
- A list of common financial abuse behaviours has been added, such as taking control of a partner’s money or sabotaging their job.
The landmark case of Kennon & Kennon established that these impacts can be considered, but only in exceptional cases. This new law encourages broader recognition of financial abuse and its effects.
Additional Factors the Family Law Court Will Take Into Account
The updated law introduces some new considerations the court can take into account when evaluating each party’s current and future situation. While many of these are consistent with what courts already considered under the previous rules, a few important additions have been made:
- Wastage: If one party has deliberately or recklessly reduced the value of assets or used financial resources in a harmful way, the court can now factor in how this has affected the overall financial position of both parties.
- Debts and Financial Obligations: The court can now more clearly assess the nature of any debts, how and why they were incurred, and the likely impact they will have on each person’s financial outlook moving forward.
- Housing for Children: The court is now specifically allowed to consider the need for suitable accommodation if a child under the age of 18 is involved, and either party is responsible for their care.
What Does This Mean for You?
If you’re going through a separation through the family law system, this new law may affect how your property is divided, especially if:
- You or your former partner experienced family violence.
- You have pets.
- You’re handling your case without a lawyer.
The changes aim to simplify legal processes, but there may still be some confusion or uncertainty in how the courts interpret these recent changes.
If you’re unsure how the law applies to your situation, getting tailored legal advice from a family law lawyer is still strongly recommended.
