Many people find themselves in the same situation.  You’re still receiving the same income but suddenly you need to pay for two homes.  The law in Australia recognizes this problem and allows for something called “separation under one roof”.  This means you are still living in the same house but are no longer together as a married couple.

You can apply for nullity by filing an Initiating Application.   This is a standard form that can be found on the family court website.   It requires detailed information about the parties involved and the reasons for the request.  In addition to this Initiating Application, you must submit an affidavit that includes the facts you are using to claim the marriage should be nullified as well as details of the marriage ceremony.

While you can fill out the forms on your own, it’s best to seek legal advice prior to submitting any documentation to the courts to insure that you have done all of the work in accordance with the rules of the courts and that you have a proper claim for nullification.

Nullity is an invalidation of the marriage.  While divorce takes a marriage and terminates it, nullification basically erases the marriage, as if it never existed.   But you can’t pick between nullity and divorce.

The Marriage Act, 1961 (give link to the law) lists the reasons for a marriage to be voided (Section 23):

(1) Bigamy: One or both partners were already married at the time or;

(2)Prohibited relationship: (ie brother and sister) or;

(3)Underage: One or both partners were under age (18 at the time of the marriage) and did not receive the approvals required by law or;

(4)One or both parties were:

1. forced into the marriage under duress or fraud or;
2. mistaken regarding the identity of the person they were marrying or the nature of the ceremony or;
3. mentally incapable of understanding the nature of the marriage ceremony or the effect of the ceremony.

If there is both a request for a nullity and a request for a divorce, the court will not grant the divorce unless it has first dismissed the nullity request.

There are three requirements for divorcing in Australia:

• You are an Australian citizen by birth or descent (one or both parents are Australian) or Australian citizenship was granted to you OR;
• You must consider Australia your home and currently be living in Australia and intend to live in Australia indefinitely, OR;
• You ordinarily live in Australia and have lived in Australia for 12 months immediately before filing for divorce (even if you took short holidays or business trips overseas).

Many people find it more convenient to fill out electronic forms compared to a hard copy. The Australian family law accepts divorce applications that are submitted electronically. Applicants can fill out a form for filing for divorce online and submit it through the electronic portal along with the fee and the necessary accompanying documents.

The online submission process has been made easier to facilitate the applicants. For the most part, the online form has exactly the same questions as the hard copy. However, it is more convenient to fill out due to some special features. One such feature is the validation feature. This feature notifies the applicant if he or she has skipped any question before moving on to the next page. This minimizes the risks of filing an incomplete form.

Secondly, the online form only presents questions that are relevant to the applicant. This saves a lot of time that would otherwise have been spent in going over every question on the form. The online form also provides pointers i.e. information to help the applicant provide complete and accurate responses.

The applicant can easily save the completed divorce application in the form of a PDF file on computer. The applicant can then submit the form electronically through the web portal of the Commonwealth Courts. Some of the necessary document can also be filed electronically. At the same time, the form is also saved automatically on a separate database from where it is automatically deleted after two months.

No separate charges are applied on filing the divorce application electronically. Only the standard prescribed fee for filing an application for divorce needs to be paid by the applicant. All efforts have been taken to make the process of filling out and submitting the online application smooth and hassle-free. However, the family law registry is open to provide a complete divorce kit that answers any particular queries and problems experienced by the applicants.

The divorce kit provides all the information that an applicant needs to file for divorce in Australia. The divorce kit outlines the steps one needs to take to apply for a divorce. It also provides the application form to be filled in by the applicant. There is no standard format of the divorce kit as it is provided in a number of different formats. The applicant can choose the one that best suits their needs after consultation with a divorce lawyer.

The divorce kit also provides an online version of the application form that needs to be printed out after it has been filled in by the applicant and then submitted to the Federal Magistrates Court. The Federal Magistrates Court Rules provide that the application form be printed on one side of the sheet only. The kit also specifies the fees that the applicant needs to pay at the time they submit the application form with the Federal Magistrates Court. The kit also specifies the instances where the applicant may be entitled to a reduction in the divorce fee. The law allows for the payment to be made in cash as well as via cheques, money orders and credit card.

In addition to the above, the divorce kit also contains information about the process to be followed during court hearings and how the outcome of the application is being determined. Applicants can use the application form to fill in details of up to four children. Applicants who have more than four children can use the special attachment form that comes with the divorce kit. Finally, the online application form can also be submitted electronically through the portal of the Commonwealth Courts. The divorce kit is an indispensable tool for divorce applicants and may be the best source of information on how to get a divorce in Australia.

In Australia, the law allows an application for divorce to be filed only after it becomes clear that the marriage has broken down and there is no chance of reconciliation between the partners. Whether the marriage has broken down to this point or not is being ascertained by the period over which the partners have been separated. Usually this period is of 12 months. The partners may either be separated for a continuous period of twelve months or for periods that amount to 12 months in total. However, in the latter case, it is necessary that any reconciliation should not have lasted for than three months.

The next question to be considered is who can file an application for divorce. Under Australian family law, any one partner or both can file an application for divorce in the Family Court. It is not mandatory for both the partners to want divorce. Either partner may file a divorce application for any marriage that took place within Australia or as long as any one partner is an Australian citizen or is domiciled in Australia. If neither of the above conditions exists, then the partner needs to have been an Australian resident for at least one year to be eligible for filing a divorce application.

Either partner is free to file a divorce application at any time once the separation period of twelve months elapse. Once the application has been filed, it generally takes almost eight weeks for the hearing to begin. It is difficult to estimate how long the proceedings may last before a judgment is reached. However, if no custody of children or divorce property issues are involved, and the partners agree to the divorce, the proceedings are concluded without any unnecessary delays. The decree nisi is issued at the hearing, which is followed by the decree absolute one month later to confirm the divorce.

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