Update on Family Law Amendment Act 2024

The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 was passed by the Australian Parliament on 10 December 2024.

From 10 June 2025, the Family Law Act 1975 includes changes to the law about:

• how the courts will determine a property settlement; and
• what the courts will consider when determining a property settlement. This includes the economic effect of any family violence, where relevant.

These changes apply to all separating couples, whether their property settlement is determined by the courts, or they are negotiating outside of court.

Practitioners can find preliminary information in the Attorney-General’s Department factsheet, Family law changes from June 2025: Information for family law professionals.

The Amendment Act makes significant changes to the framework for resolving the property and financial aspects of relationship breakdown in the Family Law Act 1975.

The key changes that will impact couples seeking to resolve their property and financial matters include:

• making clear that the effect of family violence is a relevant consideration in determining the division of property and finances following breakdown of a relationship;
• expressly capturing ‘economic or financial abuse’ within the definition of family violence, and identifying dowry abuse as an example of conduct that might constitute economic or financial abuse;
• specifying the approach the family law courts will take when making decisions about the division of property;
• providing a new framework for determining ownership of the family pet in property settlements;
• providing the family law courts the discretion to use the less adversarial approach in property and financial matters, to enhance their ability to direct proceedings and manage evidence particularly where there may be family violence; and
• elevating the duties of financial disclosure from the family law rules into the Family Law Act, to support parties to better understand their obligations and improve compliance.

Most of the changes will start on 10 June 2025, including changes to the framework for resolving the property and financial aspects of relationship breakdown. The property changes will apply to new and existing proceedings, except where a final hearing has commenced.

The following changes started on 11 December 2024:

• Schedule 3, Part 3 – Commonwealth Information Orders
• Schedule 3, Part 4 – Operation of section 69GA
• Schedule 4, Part 2 – Court rule making power for Family Court of a State
• Schedule 4, Parts 3 and 4 – changes to the family law superannuation splitting framework.

For further regular updates, practitioners can check here.