Separation Checklist Australia: What to Do First, This Week and Next

Your first 24 hours

Separation does not require a special government form. What matters is that at least one person regards the relationship as over and communicates that position. Record the date and what was said. If you are unsafe, skip negotiation and contact police, a specialist family-violence service or a lawyer.

• Secure your phone, email, banking and identity accounts with passwords the other person cannot access.
• Photograph or download current balances, loan statements, super statements, tax returns and key insurance documents.
• Write down urgent arrangements for children, medication, pets, the home and essential bills.
• Do not empty a joint account, hide property or destroy records. Preserve the position and get advice if funds are at risk.

The first week

Build a factual separation file. Keep one chronology, one asset-and-debt list and one folder of source documents. The goal is not to write accusations; it is to make later decisions verifiable.

1. Confirm the separation date in a calm written message if it is safe to do so.
2. List every asset, liability, income source, super account and financial resource—regardless of whose name is on it.
3. Set a temporary plan for rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, subscriptions, school and everyday costs.
4. For children, record the immediate routine, handovers, school, health needs and how parents will communicate.
5. Update emergency contacts and review wills, powers of attorney and beneficiaries with qualified advice.

The first month

Decide which issues are genuinely agreed, which need information and which need a mediator or lawyer. A private agreement can record interim arrangements. A parenting plan records agreed parenting arrangements but is not enforceable like an order. Court consent orders can make suitable agreed parenting or financial terms enforceable if the Court makes them.

For financial matters, full and frank disclosure is not a courtesy. It is fundamental. Do not finalise property terms while accounts, businesses, trusts, superannuation or liabilities remain unclear.

Deadlines to put in your calendar

• Divorce: married couples need at least 12 months and one day of separation before filing.
• Property after divorce: applications are generally due within 12 months after a divorce becomes final.
• De facto property: applications are generally due within two years after breakdown; WA uses its own de facto property law and court pathway.
• Sole divorce service: the Court generally requires service at least 28 days before the hearing in Australia or 42 days overseas.

Late applications may require the Court’s permission. Do not treat these as targets to wait for.

Choose the right document

Use a home and household bills agreement for temporary occupancy and expenses, a property and debt schedule for a verified agreed division, a parenting plan for flexible parenting arrangements, or consent orders where suitable agreed terms need to become Court orders. They are not interchangeable.