The Family Law Act changed on 10 June 2025 – Here’s what you need to know.

Summary: This article breaks down the June 2025 changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), highlighting key changes to property settlement, spousal maintenance, parenting matters, divorce procedures, and costs Orders - with a particular focus on how the law now responds to family violence

What's changed in Family Law

On 10 June 2025, major changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) came into effect.

The changes focus mainly on the financial issues that arise when a marriage or de facto relationship ends – being, property settlement and maintenance issues.

However, they also include important updates to divorce proceedings, certain aspects of how cases are managed (including parenting cases), and how costs Orders are made in family law proceedings.

The key changes include:

• Expanding the definition of family violence under the Act;
• Introducing additional factors to be considered when assessing property settlement and maintenance claims (including factors designed to bring issues of family violence to account);
• Defining the concept of companion animals;
• Creating a legislative process for determining the ownership of a companion animal after the breakdown of a relationship;
• Elevating the Duty of Disclosure and adding consequences for non-compliance with that duty into the Act;
• Changing certain parts of the divorce process;
• Changing how the initial stages of the case management pathway work in parenting matters; and
• Streamlining the process for costs Orders in family law proceedings.

Why have there been such big changes to the parts of the Act that deal with property and maintenance?

The property and maintenance changes aim to achieve two key things:

• First, to make the law clearer and easier to understand; and
• Second, to make the law more responsive to the financial impact of family violence.

Prior to the changes being implemented, a lot of the rules for dividing property and working out maintenance after separation came from past Court decisions. That made it hard for lots of people, especially those without a lawyer, to understand how things worked and what to expect.

The changes aim to fix that, and to make the law clearer and easier to understand, by putting certain, case law concepts into the Act – where people can more easily find them.

How the Act now addresses family violence more directly

Family violence is a devastating reality for many Australians and, as a consequence, it is a significant feature of many family law matters.

In May 2025, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia issued a media release which revealed that the Courts receive, “over 10,000 new cases each year involving parenting Orders for children. “83% of those cases involve allegations of family violence and more than 70% of those cases involve four or more serious risk factors.”

But, issues of family violence don’t just affect parenting disputes - they have an impact on property and maintenance cases too.

The changes to the Act recognise that family violence can seriously affect a person’s financial position and are designed to make sure proper adjustments and accommodations are made for adults and their children who are the victim-survivors of family violence when sorting out property and maintenance issues.

How has the definition of family violence changed?

Before the changes were made, Section 4AB(2) of the Act contained two (fairly general) examples of behaviour that might constitute economic or financial abuse.

Now, the Act contains a much longer and more expansive list of the types of behaviour that can constitute economic or financial abuse.

The changes mean that the Act now directly recognises economic or financial abuse as family violence.

How have the factors for assessing property settlement claims changed and how will issues of family violence be brought to account?

To determine a property settlement, broadly speaking, the steps include:

• Establishing that it is just and equitable to adjust the parties’ property interests;
• Identifying the net assets available for division by listing and putting values on all assets, liabilities, and superannuation interests (whether owned jointly or individually);
• Evaluating the contributions made by each party and calculating each party’s entitlement by reference to their contributions;
• Considering the current and future circumstances of each party and making adjustments, where necessary, to the parties’ respective entitlements based upon their circumstances; and
• Determining the final division of property (inclusive of any adjustments needed on account of contributions or circumstances).

The expanded checklist for dividing property after separation

The recent changes have expanded the factors used to evaluate contributions and consider current and future circumstances.

When evaluating contributions, family violence is now a recognised as a factor in the Act.

That means, if a person was subjected or exposed to family violence by their partner during the relationship, it is relevant to examine any adverse impact that the family violence has had on the ability of the affected party to make financial or non-financial contributions or to contribute to the welfare of the family.

In addition, the Act now contains a new list of factors that must be considered when assessing the current and future circumstances of the parties.

The new list combines the old factors (which existed prior to the June 2025 changes) with these four new factors:

• Family violence – If a person was subjected or exposed to family violence by their partner, consideration needs to be given to the economic impact of that violence on their current and future circumstances.
• Wastage – If a person wasted money or property, on purpose or recklessly, that wastage will be taken into account in the assessment of both parties’ current and future circumstances.
• Liabilities – All liabilities will be examined closely. That will involve looking at the nature of each liability, the circumstances relating to it, and the impact of it on the financial future of each of the parties.
• Housing needs – The Act previously provided for adjustments to be made for the benefit of a person with a caregiving responsibility for a child of the relationship. That factor has been expanded to specifically include the responsibility for providing appropriate accommodation for the child.

Maintenance assessments now consider family violence

The Act contains a list of factors that are used to assess appropriate maintenance arrangements.

Family violence has been specifically added to that list which means that when assessing maintenance arrangements, the economic effect of family violence will be considered.

What is a companion animal and how does the law work out ownership after a relationship ends?

To learn what the law has to say about companion animals, read our article 'Family law and pets'.

What is the Duty of Disclosure and why has it been put into the Act?

In property settlement matters, both parties have a Duty of Disclosure which means that they must freely exchange relevant documents and information about their financial situation – including, details of their income, assets, debts, and superannuation.

The duty applies whether the matter is being negotiated privately, going through mediation, or is the subject of Court proceedings. Failure to comply with the duty can result in serious consequences; even more so now that the duty has been inserted into the Act.

If you’d like to learn more about the duty and why it’s been put into the Act, read our article 'Disclosure in family law: How the 2025 amendments will affect you'.

What changes have been made to the divorce process?

There have been two changes to the divorce process.

Previously, people who had been married for less than two years and wanted to get divorced needed to file a certificate stating they had considered reconciliation and participated in counselling.

That requirement has been removed. But, people wanting to get divorced must still be separated for a minimum of 12 months before applying.

Prior to the changes, divorce Court attendance requirements differed based the personal circumstances of the person(s) applying.

Now, all divorcing parties will have the same Court attendance requirements regardless of whether they file on their own or together and/or there are children of the relationship.

How has the process for starting parenting proceedings changed?

When filing parenting proceedings, the person applying is required to file a certificate from an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner or meet certain exemption criteria - and then satisfy the Court of their eligibility for an exemption.

The June 2025 changes have given the Court the power to expressly reject a parenting application for filing if there is no certificate or applicable exemption.

Lean more about how we can help with your parenting matter.

What changes have been made to the way that the Court deals with costs?

The cost provisions in the Act have been completely replaced by new provisions that are intended to clarify when and how the Court can make costs Orders in family law matters (as well as when parties can be Ordered to pay the costs of an Independent Children’s Lawyer in a parenting proceeding).

What does all of this mean for me?

The June 2025 changes apply to all separating couples, whether they negotiate and reach agreement privately (i.e: outside of Court) or whether their property settlement is determined by the Court.

All of the changes apply to Court proceedings started on or after 10 June 2025. They also apply to proceedings started before 10 June 2025 that haven’t yet been finalised (except where the Trial/final hearing is already underway).

We're here to help

If you would like to speak with experienced Family Lawyers about how these changes apply to you, or any other issues around a separation or divorce, we're here to help guide you through the process.

Our team of lawyers in SA have helped thousands of South Australians protect their family's rights. When experience matters, we’re here to help you, too.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.