Payments made by one spouse to another after separation to help the receiving spouse pay their living expenses are referred to as spousal maintenance payments.
It might be necessary to pay spousal maintenance after separation in situations where one spouse was financially dependant on the other and now that they are separated, they are unable to meet their own living costs without help.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has the power to order a spouse to pay spousal maintenance.
Unlike child support payments, the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) does not administer spousal maintenance payments. If a spouse requires financial help and the other spouse is refusing to provide financial help, the disadvantaged spouse must make an application for a spousal maintenance order from the Court.
To succeed in an application for a spousal maintenance order, the applicant must prove that:
- They are unable to support themselves adequately without spousal maintenance.
- The other party is reasonably able to pay the spousal maintenance.
Once the above two elements have been established the Court is then empowered to make ‘such order as it considers proper for the provision of maintenance’.
In deciding what order is ‘proper’ the Court will take in to account a range of circumstances of the parties.
Similarly, to other applications for property orders, an application for a spousal maintenance order must be made within 12 months of the date of a divorce or within 2 years of the end of a de facto relationship.
If you have any questions about the above, our team at FC Lawyers is here to help. If you have any questions or queries regarding anything above, please contact our team of experienced family lawyers.
The information provided in this article is for general information and educative purposes in summary form on legal topics which is current at the time it is published. The content does not constitute legal advice or recommendations and should not be relied upon as such. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this article, FC Lawyers cannot accept responsibility for any errors, including those caused by negligence, in the material. We make no representations, statements or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of the information and you should not rely on it. You are advised to make your own independent inquiries regarding the accuracy of any information provided on this website. FC Lawyers does not guarantee, and accepts no legal responsibility whatsoever arising from or in connection to the accuracy, reliability, currency, correctness or completeness of any material contained in this article. Links to third party websites or articles does not constitute any endorsement or approval of those sites or the owners of those sites. Nothing in this article should be construed as granting any licence or right for you to use that content. You should consult the third party’s terms and conditions of use in relation to any third-party content. FC Lawyers disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including liability for negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you might incur as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way. Appropriate legal advice should always be obtained in actual situations.
Prefer to get in touch?
With offices in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Sydney, our team is well equipped to provide both advice and support across a broad range of legal areas.
