Property Settlements After 10 June 2025: What Changed Under the Family Law Act 1975?

On 10 June 2025, important changes to Australian family law came into effect.

The changes affect how property and finances are dealt with after separation, including how the court considers family violence, financial abuse, debts, children’s housing needs and family pets.

The changes may not necessarily mean that property settlements will have a different outcome. Instead, they make the process clearer and expressly recognise issues that can have a significant financial effect after a relationship ends.

1. How are property settlements assessed?

When deciding a property settlement, the court looks at the parties’ overall financial circumstances.

This includes identifying property and debts, considering what each person contributed during the relationship, looking at their current and future circumstances, and deciding whether the overall result is just and equitable. There is no automatic 50/50 rule. The outcome depends on the facts and circumstances of each case.

2. Family violence and financial abuse

One of the most important changes is the clearer recognition of family violence in the list of factors the court considers when assessing contributions in property matters.

Where relevant, the court can consider how family violence affected a person’s ability to contribute during the relationship. It can also consider the economic effect of family violence on that person’s current and future circumstances.

For example, violence may have affected a person’s ability to work, manage finances, care for children or maintain their health and earning capacity.

The law also more clearly recognises economic or financial abuse as a form of family violence. This may include controlling another person’s access to money, interfering with their ability to work, forcing them to take on debts, creating debts in their name without their knowledge, or withholding financial support.

3. Debts, reckless spending and children’s housing

The court can now expressly consider the effect of significant wastage of property or financial resources caused intentionally or recklessly.

The court can also consider the nature of the parties’ debts and how they arose. This may be important where one person incurred substantial debt without the other person’s knowledge or mainly for their own benefit.

Where there are children under 18, the court can also consider the need of either parent to provide appropriate housing for them.

This does not automatically mean that the parent caring for the children will keep the family home. However, the children’s housing needs can form part of the overall assessment.

4. What happens to the family pet?

The new laws also introduce a specific framework for companion animals.

Separating couples can still make their own agreement about what happens to a pet.

If they cannot agree and the court is asked to decide, the court can order that one person have sole ownership, that the animal be transferred to another person who agrees to take it, or that the animal be sold.

The court cannot order shared ownership or a shared-care arrangement.

When deciding what should happen, the court can consider matters such as who has cared for the animal, each person’s ability to care for it in the future, any attachment between the animal and a child, and any history of actual or threatened abuse towards the animal.

5. Financial disclosure remains essential

Both parties must be open about their financial circumstances.

From 10 June 2025, the duty of financial disclosure is expressly contained in the Family Law Act 1975, rather than only in the court’s rules.

The duty is ongoing and requires parties to provide relevant financial information and documents while their property matter is being resolved.

Failing to provide proper disclosure can have serious consequences, including costs orders and the court taking the failure into account when deciding what orders to make.

6. What does this mean if you are separating?

The changes make it even more important to understand the full financial picture before agreeing to a property settlement.

Keep records of important financial documents and, where relevant, evidence showing the financial effect of family violence and financial abuse.

For veterans and ADF families, property settlements can also involve issues such as military superannuation, DVA payments, periods of deployment or posting and other service-related financial circumstances.

7. Talk to Veterans First Legal

A property settlement is not simply a matter of adding up the assets and dividing them in half.

If you have separated, are considering separation or are currently negotiating a property settlement, Veterans First Legal can help you understand how the current family law framework applies to your circumstances.

Contact us to arrange a confidential discussion.

This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. It does not take into account your individual circumstances. You should obtain legal advice tailored to your situation before acting on this information.