How to Apply for Divorce on Your Own in Australia: Sole Application and Serving the Papers

Yes, you can apply for divorce in Australia without your ex. This is called a sole application. You file the online application on the Commonwealth Courts Portal, pay the court fee, then have the papers served on your spouse at least 28 days before the hearing if they are in Australia. Your spouse does not have to sign the application or agree to the divorce.

Claim Done prepares a Sole Divorce Filing and Service Pack from your answers for a flat A$97: a step-by-step guide to the Portal questions, a copy-ready summary of your answers, and a service checklist. You still file the application, pay the court fee and arrange service yourself.

Who can apply for divorce on their own

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia says you can apply by yourself (a sole application) or together with your spouse (a joint application). In a sole application, only you sign, but you must serve it on your spouse (the respondent).

According to Victoria Legal Aid, your spouse does not need to agree to the divorce. You do need to have told them that you consider the marriage to be over.

Check each of these first:

• 12 months and 1 day. You must have been separated for 12 months and 1 day or longer. You can get back together once for up to three months without restarting the clock.
• An Australian connection. Family Relationships Online says you or your spouse must be an Australian citizen, live in Australia and regard it as your permanent home, or ordinarily live in Australia and have done so for at least 12 months. Marrying overseas does not stop you.
• Married at least two years. If not, you need counselling with a family counsellor and a counselling certificate, or the court’s permission to apply without one.
• Where you live. If you are in Western Australia, you apply to the Family Court of Western Australia instead.

What the application asks you

The online form has Parts A to F. Have these ready:

1. Your full name and your spouse’s full name, exactly as they appear on the marriage certificate. If they differ, you may be asked for more evidence.
2. Your marriage certificate. If you married in Australia, you must provide one. If it is not in English, it must be translated and attached to an Affidavit of Translation of Marriage Certificate from the translator.
3. Your separation date, and whether you lived at the same address at any time in the 12 months before filing.
4. Your spouse’s current address for service.
5. Details of every child of the marriage under 18. This includes a step-child or foster child treated as part of your family before you separated. Part F asks about their housing, care, schooling, health, contact and support.

A court can only grant a divorce if it is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for children under 18. The divorce itself does not settle parenting, money or property. Once a divorce is final, you have 12 months to apply to court for property orders if you have not already got them.

If you were separated under one roof

If you lived in the same home for any part of the 12 months before filing, you need extra evidence in an affidavit. The Court’s fact sheet on separation under one roof says a sole applicant must file their own affidavit and should also file one from an independent person, such as a family member, friend or neighbour. Explain changes such as separate bedrooms, separate bank accounts and no longer doing household jobs for each other.

How much the divorce application fee is

As at November 2026, the court filing fee for a divorce application is A$1,170, or A$390 at the reduced rate. These fees apply from 1 July 2026. You pay by Visa or Mastercard on the Portal when you file.

In a sole application, only you need to qualify for the reduced fee. The reduced fee guidelines cover people who are the primary holder of a health care card, pensioner concession card or similar concession card, people granted Legal Aid, and some others. If you do not qualify but the full fee would cause you financial hardship, you can apply for the reduced fee on that basis. You will need to upload evidence.

Filing on the Commonwealth Courts Portal

You need a scanner, a printer and a card. The steps:

1. Register on the Portal and start a new Application for divorce.
2. Complete Parts A to F. Unfinished applications are deleted after 90 days.
3. Upload your marriage certificate and any affidavits.
4. Lock the application. You cannot make changes after this, so check it first.
5. Print and sign the Affidavit for eFiling in front of a lawyer or Justice of the Peace, then upload it.
6. Download the Marriage, Families and Separation brochure. In a sole application, it must go with the papers you serve.
7. Submit, pay the fee and pick a court date.

The Court says a sole applicant with children under 18 will be required to attend the hearing, which is held online before a registrar.

How to serve divorce papers on your spouse

The Court’s page on serving a divorce sets the deadlines: at least 28 days before the hearing if your spouse is in Australia, and at least 42 days if they are overseas. The papers to serve are the sealed application with the Notice of Application for Divorce on the front, the sealed Affidavit for eFiling, the brochure, an Acknowledgment of Service (Divorce), and other documents you filed apart from certificates and fee forms.

The server can be a family member, friend or professional process server. If your spouse refuses the papers, the server can put them down in front of them and say what they are. If a posted Acknowledgment does not come back, you need to arrange service by hand. Upload your proof of service to the Portal. If your spouse is overseas, the method depends on whether their country is a party to the Hague Convention.

If you cannot find your spouse after taking all reasonable steps, you can ask the Court for substituted service or dispensation of service. Dispensation is only granted in exceptional circumstances.

What the pack covers

Three documents, built from your answers:

• Application and eFiling guide: each Portal step in order, written around your marriage, separation, Australian connection, any under-one-roof evidence and your children.
• Answers summary: your answers laid out to copy into the online form. It is not an official court form.
• Service checklist: the deadline, the papers to serve, who can serve them, the Acknowledgment and the proof you upload.

It stops before you pay if you are applying jointly, married less than two years, cannot locate your spouse, or it may not be safe.

What happens at and after the hearing

For a sole application, the divorce hearing page says a key requirement is proof that your spouse was properly served. Check the Portal at least 7 days before the hearing in case anything has changed. If your spouse files a response opposing the divorce, you should attend. If you do not, the application may be dismissed.

If the divorce is granted, it usually becomes final one month and one day later. You download the divorce order from the Portal the day after it is final. You cannot remarry until then.

Mistakes to avoid

• Filing a day early. Count 12 months and 1 day from separation.
• Serving the papers yourself by hand.
• Leaving out a step-child, or giving thin detail in Part F.
• Ignoring Court emails. If you do not file what it asks for, you may have to re-file and pay another fee.

The Court cannot give legal advice. The Family Relationship Advice Line on 1800 050 321 offers free information and legal advice. When you are ready, the Sole Divorce Filing and Service Pack organises your answers and service steps for a flat A$97.