Right: Tony Abbott, MP, has proposed that "fault-based" divorce be re-introduced and that it be available to couples who want to "opt in" to it, rather than use the present system.
Background information
Current divorce provisions in AustraliaYou can apply for a divorce in Australia if either you or your spouse:
regard Australia as your home and intend to live in Australia indefinitely, or
are an Australian citizen by birth, descent or by grant of Australian citizenship, or
ordinarily live in Australia and have done so for 12 months immediately before filing for divorce.
You need to satisfy the Court that you and your spouse have lived separately and apart for at least 12 months, and there is no reasonable likelihood of resuming married life. It is possible to live together in the same home and still be separated.
To apply for a divorce, you must complete an Application for Divorce and file it with the Court and pay the application fee. You may be eligible for a fee exemption or waiver.
If you apply for a divorce together with your spouse, it is a joint application and you and your spouse are joint applicants.
If you apply for a divorce by yourself, you are a sole applicant and your spouse is the respondent.
You may prepare your own divorce application or ask a lawyer to do it for you. The Application for Divorce Kit has instructions for completing the application and filing it. It includes an Application for Divorce form.
What a court considers in divorce applications
The Family Law Act 1975 established the principle of no-fault divorce in Australian law. This means that a court does not consider why the marriage ended.
The only ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. That is, that there is no reasonable likelihood that you will get back together. You must have been separated for at least 12 months and one day in order to satisfy the Court that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
If there are children aged under 18, a court can only grant a divorce if it is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for them.
Children and property
The granting of a divorce does not decide issues about property and maintenance or parenting arrangements for your children. If you want to make arrangements about these issues you can:
make an agreement with your spouse and file it with a court, or
seek orders from a court, where you and your spouse cannot reach an agreement.
For parenting cases, you also have the option to make a parenting plan. .
If you want to apply for maintenance for yourself or a division of property, you must file a separate application within 12 months of the date the divorce becomes final.
Matrimonial Causes Act
The act, abandoned in 1975 in exchange for a 'no-fault' system, provided fourteen grounds for divorce, including adultery, desertion, cruelty, habitual drunkenness, imprisonment and insanity, or separation for more than five years.