In almost every case, a divorce in Australia takes more than 13 months from the day you separate. You need to have been separated for 12 months and one day or longer before you can apply, and once the court grants the divorce order, it takes effect one month and one day later. The stretch in between, while the court lists and considers your application, is the part that varies.
This guide is written for people in Perth and the rest of Western Australia. In WA, divorce applications go to the Family Court of Western Australia, not the federal court that handles them in other states.
It walks through each stage in order, covers what usually slows things down, and explains how separation differs from divorce, because the two get mixed up a lot.
How Long Does a Divorce Take in Australia? The Timeline at a Glance
From the day you separate to the day you are legally divorced, allow at least 13 months, and usually longer. Only two parts of the timeline are fixed: the 12 months and one day of separation before you apply, and the one month and one day between the court granting the divorce and it taking effect.
The Family Court of WA doesn’t set out a standard wait between filing and the hearing in its application guidance, so the hearing date you choose when you lodge is your best guide for that middle stretch.
| Stage | What happens | Timeframe |
| 1. Separation | You and your spouse stop living together as a couple (this can happen under one roof) | 12 months and one day or longer before you can apply |
| 2. Lodging | You file the application online through the eCourts Portal of WA, with a sworn affidavit and the fee | Once you’ve been separated for 12 months and one day |
| 3. Service (sole applications only) | Your spouse is formally given the application | At least 28 days before the hearing, or generally 42 days if they are overseas (special rules can apply by country) |
| 4. Hearing | The court considers the application, usually from the paperwork | You select a first hearing date after lodging |
| 5. Divorce takes effect | The marriage legally ends | One month and one day after the order is made |
| 6. Afterwards | Deadline to apply for property orders or spousal maintenance if you haven’t already | 12 months from when the divorce takes effect |
A joint application, where you and your spouse apply together, skips the service stage. The Family Court of WA says joint applications are heard more quickly for that reason.
How Long After Separation Can You Apply for Divorce in Australia?
You can apply once you have been separated for 12 months and one day or longer. If you separated on 7 November, for example, the earliest you can apply is 8 November the following year.
Australia has no-fault divorce, so the only thing you need to show is that the marriage has broken down for good, and the law treats 12 months of separation, with no reasonable chance of getting back together, as proof of that. The court doesn’t ask why the marriage ended.
Separation starts when one of you decides the relationship is over, acts on that decision and tells the other person. Your spouse doesn’t have to agree, and there is no form to fill in. The date does matter, though. It goes on your divorce application and can affect other time limits, so write it down when it happens.
A few situations come up often:
- Still living in the same house. You can be separated under one roof. You still need 12 months, and you’ll have to give the court extra evidence. In WA that means a sworn affidavit from you (from both of you if you apply jointly) and one from an independent person, such as a family member, friend or neighbour, who knows about the separation.
- Trying again. You can move back in together for up to three months to attempt a reconciliation. The periods before and after are treated as one continuous separation, but the time you spent back together doesn’t count towards the 12 months.
- Married less than two years. You no longer need a counselling certificate. That requirement was removed from 10 June 2025.
- Residency. At least one of you must be an Australian citizen, live in Australia and regard it as your permanent home, or have ordinarily lived here for at least 12 months before applying. A marriage overseas can still be ended in Australia if you meet one of those tests.
Filing the Divorce Application
In WA, divorce applications are lodged online through the eCourts Portal of Western Australia, and the Family Court of WA publishes its own application guide. The four steps below cover the filing stage only; the wider process is set out in this guide on how to get a divorce in Australia.
1. Gather Your Documents.
You need a copy of your marriage certificate. It doesn’t have to be the original or a certified copy. If the certificate isn’t in English, you were separated under one roof, or you’re relying on citizenship or visa residency, the court asks for additional documents.
2. Complete The Online Application.
Choose whether it’s a sole application (one of you applies) or a joint one. Every question needs an answer. If you genuinely can’t find out a detail, the court allows “not known”, but an incomplete application can be sent back to you.
3. Swear The Affidavit.
You print your completed application and a blank affidavit, then sign the affidavit in front of an authorised witness, usually a Justice of the Peace (JP) or a lawyer. Take the printed application with you. Police officers, pharmacists and teachers can’t witness it unless they are also JPs.
4. Upload And Pay.
The Family Court of WA lists the divorce application fee at $1,170 from 1 July 2026. A reduced fee of $390 applies if you are the primary holder of a concession card such as a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, meet certain other criteria, or can show financial hardship. In a joint application, both of you must be eligible, or the full fee applies.
You can’t apply early. If you lodge before the 12 months and one day is up, your spouse is entitled to object on that ground.
Serving Your Spouse, Their Response and the Hearing
If you apply on your own, your spouse has to be formally served with the application. After you lodge, you pick a first hearing date, and that date sets your service deadline: at least 28 days before the hearing if your spouse is in Australia, 42 days if they are overseas.
Service can be done by post or electronic communication, or by hand. Posting only works if your spouse signs and returns an Acknowledgement of Service. Without it, the court can’t be sure they received the documents, and you’ll need to serve by hand.
You then lodge proof of service. If there is a family violence restraining order in place, get legal advice before you serve anything, because the order may affect how it can be done.
You don’t need your spouse’s agreement to apply. They can file a response, but the grounds for opposing a divorce are narrow. They can say you hadn’t been separated for 12 months when you applied, or that the court doesn’t have jurisdiction.
Disliking the idea of divorce isn’t a ground. A response has to be filed within 28 days of being served in Australia, or 42 days if served overseas.
Do You Have to Go to Court?
Usually not. The Family Court of WA says divorce applications generally don’t require you to attend, and Legal Aid WA says that since 10 June 2025 hearings are held in chambers unless the court asks for you.
You will need to attend if your spouse files a response, or if you’ve made another application that is being dealt with at the same time, such as asking the court to dispense with service because you can’t find your spouse.
Attending is also advisable if you were separated under one roof and might need to explain your circumstances. Check the court’s current guidance when you lodge, since the process has changed recently.
What the Court Checks About Children.
If you have a child under 18, the court will only grant the divorce if it is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for them. It is not deciding who the children live with or spend time with.
If those arrangements have changed substantially since you lodged, you need to file an updated affidavit at least four days before the hearing and serve it on your spouse.
How Long After the Divorce Hearing Does the Order Become Final?
One month and one day. When the court grants a divorce, the divorce is finalised one month and one day later, unless the court makes a special order that shortens or lengthens that period. Until that date, you are still legally married, which matters if you were planning a wedding or any step that depends on your marital status.
The gap is built into the law (section 55 of the Family Law Act 1975, which deals with when a divorce order takes effect), and it applies in WA the same as anywhere else in Australia.
This is also where the 12-month deadline for property and spousal maintenance applications starts. If you haven’t applied for either by the time your divorce takes effect, you generally have 12 months from that date to do so. After that, you need the court’s permission (called leave) to apply, and it isn’t always granted.
What Delays a Divorce in Australia?
The court’s own guidance points to several things that can hold an application up or push the hearing back, and most of them are about dates, paperwork or service:
- Not enough separation time. If your spouse disputes the date, or you lodged too early, they can object on that ground.
- An incomplete or incorrect application. The court can send it back to you. Smaller mistakes, such as a misspelt name or wrong details about the children, can be fixed by filing an affidavit that sets out the correct information and serving it on your spouse.
- Late or improper service. If your spouse is served late, the court will likely postpone the hearing to give them time to respond. If they aren’t served properly, or at all, the court adjourns the case until you fix it. Posting only counts if your spouse signs and returns the Acknowledgement of Service; if they don’t, you need to serve by hand.
- A spouse who is overseas. The service deadline stretches to 42 days, and the rules depend on the country. The Family Court of WA recommends legal advice.
- A spouse you can’t locate. You have to ask the court to dispense with service, and you will need to attend that hearing.
- A response from your spouse. This means a hearing you have to attend.
- Doubts about the children’s arrangements. The court may ask for more evidence before it is satisfied.
- Separation under one roof. Extra affidavits are needed, and the court may want you there to explain.
- A marriage certificate that isn’t in English. You need additional documents to go with it.
Several of these can be avoided by checking the dates and the paperwork before you lodge.
Divorce vs Separation: What’s the Difference?
Separation is a change in how you’re living. Divorce is a court order. You can be separated without being divorced, but you can’t get divorced without first being separated for at least 12 months.
| Separation | Divorce | |
| What it is | You stop living together as a couple, which can happen under the same roof | A court order that legally ends the marriage |
| Court involvement | None required | Application to the Family Court of WA, then an order |
| Marital status | You are still legally married | You are no longer married once the order takes effect |
| Remarriage | Not possible | Possible once the divorce has taken effect |
| Court fee | None | $1,170, or $390 with a fee reduction |
| Property | Can be dealt with at any point after you separate, including before divorce | A divorce order doesn’t divide property; a 12-month deadline starts when it takes effect |
| Children | Arrangements can be made at any point after you separate | A divorce order doesn’t include parenting arrangements, but the court checks the children are properly provided for |
The Financial Side
Property is dealt with separately from the divorce, and you can apply for property orders before the divorce becomes final. Staying legally married after you separate can still affect your obligations, which is worth asking about if you aren’t sure where you stand.
If you receive Centrelink payments, you have to tell Services Australia when you separate, including when you are separated but still living under one roof. Payment amounts depend on your circumstances, and not reporting a change can mean being paid the wrong amount and having to repay the difference.
How Does Legal Separation Differ From Divorce in Australia?
In Australia, there is no application, certificate or court order for separation. The Family Court of WA says you don’t have to do anything in particular for a separation to be legal.
You may need to prove the date later, usually when you apply for a divorce, so it helps to keep a note of it and of significant changes to living, parenting or money arrangements.
The process is where the two really part ways:
- Separation has no filing, fee or hearing. What you do in practice is record the date, tell Services Australia if you receive payments, and work out arrangements for children and property.
- Divorce is a formal court process: an online application, a sworn affidavit, a fee, service on your spouse (unless you apply jointly) and a decision by the court.
If you want your separation arrangements to be enforceable without getting a divorce, there are other options. For children, a parenting plan is a signed, dated written agreement, but a court can’t enforce it.
A parenting order is a court order that can be enforced, and parents who agree can apply for consent orders. The Family Court of WA lists the fee for an application for consent orders at $215.
This article is about married couples. In WA, de facto relationships and children of parents who were never married are dealt with under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA) rather than the Family Law Act 1975. There is no divorce for a de facto relationship, and different rules and time limits can apply.
If You Start With Separation, Can You Move On to Divorce Later?
Yes, and there is nothing to convert. Separation isn’t a formal status that gets upgraded. Once you have been separated for 12 months and one day, you apply for a divorce and rely on your date of separation, so the months you’ve already lived apart count towards it.
If you moved back in together for up to three months along the way, those months don’t count, but they don’t reset the clock either.
On timing, nothing forces you to apply the moment the 12 months is up. Married couples who haven’t divorced aren’t yet on the 12-month deadline for property and spousal maintenance applications, because it only starts when the divorce takes effect.
On cost, the court fees are set by regulation and rise each 1 July. These are the Family Court of WA fees from 1 July 2026:
| Application | Court fee |
| Divorce | $1,170 |
| Divorce, reduced fee | $390 |
| Consent orders | $215 |
| Initiating application for final orders, parenting or financial | $455 |
| Initiating application for final orders, parenting and financial | $740 |
These are filing fees only. Fees for a lawyer or a process server are on top of them, and they vary too much between matters to give a single figure. The divorce fee itself is the same whether or not you’ve already sorted out property and parenting. Those two are separate applications.
Separation or Divorce: Which Suits Property, Children and Remarriage?
They aren’t really alternatives. Separation always comes first, and divorce is a further step that you only need if you want to end the marriage legally.
1. Dividing Property
You don’t need a divorce to sort out property, and you can apply for property orders before the divorce is final. If you do divorce and haven’t dealt with property or spousal maintenance by then, a 12-month deadline applies from the date the divorce takes effect. A divorce order itself doesn’t divide anything.
2. Parenting Arrangements
People still search for “custody”, but the Family Law Act talks about parental responsibility and about who a child lives with and spends time with. Both parents keep parental responsibility for a child under 18 after separating, unless a court order says otherwise.
Those arrangements run on their own track and don’t depend on whether you divorce. Where there are children under 18, the court will check that proper arrangements are in place before it grants the divorce, so having them settled before you lodge can help.
3. Remarrying
This is the one thing that needs a divorce. Australian Government guidance says you only need to divorce if you want to remarry, though it also notes that staying legally married can still affect your obligations.
A celebrant needs evidence of your divorce, and the notice of intended marriage has to be given at least one month, and no more than 18 months, before the wedding. If your divorce is still pending, it has to take effect before the marriage can be solemnised.
Before You Lodge
If your situation has a complication, such as being separated under one roof, a spouse overseas, or a separation date you expect to be disputed, it’s worth having the dates and paperwork checked by divorce and separation lawyers in Perth before you apply.
Otherwise, the Family Court of WA website is the place to confirm current requirements, because fees and procedures change.
FAQs
How Quickly Can I Get a Divorce in Australia?
As quickly as the paperwork allows once you’ve been separated for 12 months and one day. A joint application skips service, so the Family Court of WA says it’s heard more quickly, and a complete form with correct service avoids postponements.
What Is the Quickest Divorce You Can Get?
A little over 13 months from the day you separate. The 12 months and one day of separation and the one month and one day after the order can’t be skipped, and only a special court order can shorten the second.
What Is a Wife Entitled to in a Divorce in Australia?
The law sets no fixed share for a wife or a husband, and the divorce order doesn’t divide property. If the Family Court of WA decides, it weighs each person’s contributions, including homemaker and parenting, and their current and future needs, then checks that the result is fair. Legal Aid WA sets out the steps.
What Is the Biggest Mistake During a Divorce?
There isn’t a single biggest one, as official guidance doesn’t rank mistakes. The ones the courts and agencies warn about involve dates and paperwork: applying before 12 months and one day, serving incorrectly, missing the 12-month property deadline, and not telling Services Australia you’ve separated.