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Divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the dissolution of a marriage. Australia has ‘no fault’ divorce meaning there is only one ground for divorce, being the irretrievable breakdown of marriage as evidenced by 12 months separation between the parties to the marriage.
Separation for the purposes of divorce involves:
- Intention to separate,
- Action upon the intention to separate, and
- Communication of such an intention on the other party.
In an application for divorce, the applicant bears the onus of proving:
- The marriage,
- The irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and
- If there is a child under 18 years, that the arrangements for the child are proper. The applicant must also prove jurisdiction and service of the application.
Usually, evidence of the marriage will be the marriage certificate of the parties. Where the marriage took place overseas and the marriage certificate is in a foreign language, the certificate must be accompanied by a certified translation of the foreign certificate into English.
Who can apply
An application for divorce can be filed if either party is:
- a citizen of Australia, or
- domiciled in Australia, and
- ordinarily resident in Australia and has been so resident for at least one year before filing the application, and
- the parties have lived separately and apart for a period of at least 12 months and there is no reasonable likelihood of a reconciliation.
Once the divorce application has been filed, a sealed copy must be served on the respondent at least 28 days prior to the hearing.
The above should not be treated as legal advice but general information and if you are thinking about filing a divorce application or have been served with a divorce application, you should seek legal advice.
To obtain advice on your RIGHTS, call AMA Legal on (02) 8610 3764 or 0431 630 158.
