Property Lawyers Caloundra Sunshine Coast | Ferrall & Co.

The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) commenced on 10 June 2025. It is the most significant change to property settlement in Australia in over a decade, and it applies to new and existing matters unless a final hearing had already begun. If you were given advice before mid-2025, or you are reading an article that hasn’t been updated, some of it is now out of date.

Four changes matter most in practice:

1. The four-step process is now codified. What used to be judicial convention is now written into sections 79 and 90SM. That gives both sides clearer ground to argue from — and clearer grounds to challenge a decision.
2. Family violence must be considered. The economic effect of family violence is now an express consideration, at two separate points in the process. Economic and financial abuse is defined in the Act.
3. Add-backs, in their traditional form, are gone. Wastage and reckless spending are now dealt with inside the contributions and future-needs assessment instead.
4. Debts are looked at more closely. The court assesses whether a liability was incurred for joint benefit or by one party alone.

You can read the Federal Circuit and Family Court’s summary of the changes here, and the Attorney-General’s Department fact sheet for separating couples here.