Divorce Guide

Monetary Cost for Seeking Divorce in Australia

Some survey experts hold the opinion that almost every third marriage in Australia ends up in a divorce and when in the course of a divorce, financial hardships are the major issues which hampers the peace of both the parties. The monetary cost of divorce in Australia is pretty high and when the cases are a bit complicated then it goes even higher. Let us have a look at the approximate figures of cost which generally occurs when getting divorced under various circumstances.

According to regulation 14, a biennial raise in fees is observed which is applicable to all the cases with effect from July 2010. When getting divorced in Australia there are a numerous fees which are applicable for Federal Magistrates Court proceedings pursuant. Some of the basic fees are listed as under:

• A fee of $550 is charged when the application for divorce is submitted for consideration.
• If the case involves issues like children and property then an additional fee of around $243 is charged is charged along with the application fee.
• An extra amount of $176 is charged in case response, seeking different orders is sought by the applicant.
• $ 444 is charged for a defended matter when setting down the hearing fee.
• Again $444 is the amount charged as daily hearing fee of which an exception is the first hearing day.
• For child support response and application no fees is chargeable.

There are some exceptional cases which are entitled for fee exemption and so, these cases do not pay have to pay the huge sum for getting divorced. As per the regulation 8, Federal Magistrates Court Regulations 2000, an individual’s fee is exempted when

• He holds a card of pensioners concession
• He has been granted with some legal aid
• He holds card of commonwealth seniors health
• He is the holder of some health care card
• He possesses any other card which has been issued by dept. of family and community services
• He holds a card issued by the dept. of Veterans’ Affair
• He is or had been the inmate of prison
• He has been detained lawfully
• He is under 18 years of age
• He is receiving the benefits under ABSTUDY
• He is mentioned in receipt of Youth allowance

Apart from this fee waiver is also given according to the regulation 9 of the Federal Magistrates Court Regulations 2000 when fee payment is having regards to the salary, daily expenses, assets and liabilities or if he/she is having satisfaction that the fee payment may cause a situation of financial hardship.

If your case is very normal and you’ve hired a competent lawyer for the same then your divorce cost will be nothing less than $795. Basically the cost of getting divorced starts from this price range. In case you want the best of lawyer and the best of services and want to get out through the entire process smoothly then for sure you’ll have to pay an amount much higher than the mentioned figure.

It is true that when getting divorced in Australia, you generally end up burning a hole in your pocket but in case you’ve acted wise enough to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage then you can save immensely on the cost of your divorce. If such an agreement is signed in before a marriage in Australia ten the cost of divorce can go down to as low as $432. It is a wise idea to sign a pre-nuptial agreement before getting married in Australia. However, cases are rare in which people get into such agreements.

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