How to Apply for Divorce in Victoria: A Step-by-Step Guide

The 12-month separation requirement

Before you can apply for divorce in Australia, you and your spouse must have been separated for at least 12 continuous months. 'Separation' means you have lived apart and treated the marriage as over — this does not necessarily mean living at different addresses. It is possible to be 'separated under one roof', but this requires evidence such as statutory declarations from you and a witness confirming the separation.

If you reconcile for a period of up to three months and then separate again, the earlier separation period does not restart — but you must add on any reconciliation period. If you reconcile for more than three months, the 12-month clock restarts from the new separation date.

Sole vs joint applications

A divorce application can be made as a sole application (by one party) or a joint application (by both parties together). If you apply jointly, neither party needs to appear at a hearing (in most cases). If you apply as the sole applicant, you will generally need to attend the hearing unless the application is uncontested and there are no children of the marriage under 18.

Most people make sole applications. The other party does not need to agree to the divorce — Australia has no-fault divorce, meaning the only ground is irretrievable breakdown evidenced by 12 months' separation.

Filing in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia

Divorce applications are filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA). Applications are made through the Commonwealth Courts Portal online. You will need to attach a marriage certificate (or an explanation if it is unavailable), complete the application form, and pay the filing fee — a reduced fee applies if you hold a health care or similar concession card.

Once filed, the court will list the matter for a hearing and provide a date. The application will also need to be served on your spouse (for sole applications).

Service of the application

For a sole application, you must serve your spouse with a copy of the application and any supporting documents at least 28 days before the hearing date (or 42 days if they are overseas). Service must be done in a legally recognised way — usually by post or by a process server. You cannot serve the documents yourself. Once served, an affidavit of service must be filed with the court.

The hearing and when the divorce becomes final

For most uncontested divorces where there are no children of the marriage under 18, the court does not require attendance and simply makes the order. Where there are children under 18, the court must be satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for them before granting the divorce — this is not a contested issue but the court needs the relevant information.

If the divorce is granted, a divorce order is made. It becomes final one month and one day after the hearing date (unless the order has been appealed). Once final, either party can remarry. Importantly, a divorce order only ends the marriage — it does not deal with property, parenting or financial matters. Those are separate proceedings.

Property and parenting are separate

Divorcing does not automatically resolve property settlement or parenting arrangements. If you and your former spouse cannot agree on property, either party has 12 months from the date the divorce order becomes final to apply to the court for property orders. Missing this deadline can mean losing the right to apply. Parenting arrangements are not subject to the same limitation period, but it is generally better to resolve them as soon as possible.