Property Settlement Basics: The Four-Step Process and Why "She Gets Half" Is a Myth
PROPERTY
Property settlement basics: the four-step process and why "she gets half" is a myth
Like its parenting cousin ("the kids are automatically 50/50"), the property myth - "she gets half," or "I keep what's in my name" - survives every attempt to kill it. Neither is the law. Australian property settlement runs on a structured process, usually described in four steps - and since 10 June 2025 those steps are written into section 79 of the Family Law Act.
01 / STEP ONE
Step one: identify the pool
Everything gets on the table: houses, mortgages, savings, vehicles, businesses, shares, cryptocurrency, debts - and superannuation, which people persistently forget despite it often being the second-largest asset. Whose name an asset is in matters far less than people assume; the pool is built from what exists, not from title. This step runs on full and frank disclosure - a duty owed by both parties - and hiding assets is both ineffective (lawyers know where to look) and damaging when found.
02 / STEP TWO
Step two: assess contributions
What did each party contribute across the relationship? Financial contributions (income, assets brought in, inheritances) sit alongside non-financial ones - and the law treats homemaking and raising children as genuine contributions, not lesser ones. A parent who spent twelve years running the household while the other earned has contributed, in the law's eyes, to every dollar the earner banked. Length of the relationship, initial assets, and post-separation contributions all feed the assessment. Since June 2025 the Act also expressly requires the court to consider the effect of any family violence on a party's ability to make contributions.
03 / STEP THREE
Step three: current and future circumstances
The forward-looking adjustment: age and health of each party, income and earning capacity, who has care of children, and the practical effect of the relationship on each person's ability to earn. Family violence and wastage (for example, gambling losses or deliberately dissipating assets) are now listed considerations too. This is where percentages move - a party with the children, lower earning capacity, or health issues commonly receives an adjustment beyond bare contributions.
04 / STEP FOUR
Step four: is the result just and equitable?
The court stands back and asks whether the overall outcome is fair in the real world - how it's actually paid out, who keeps the house versus the super, whether the split works in practice.
05 / THE MYTHS
Why the myths fail
"Half" is sometimes the answer - but as an output of the four steps in a particular case, never a starting rule. And "what's in my name stays mine" fails at step one. Time limits apply too: generally 12 months from a divorce order taking effect, and 2 years from the end of a de facto relationship, so settling promptly protects your rights. Agreements can be formalised by consent orders without ever litigating - most are.
Source: Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (Compilation No. 101, compiled 10 June 2025; the latest compilation on the Federal Register of Legislation as at 4 November 2026), ss 44(3), 44(5), 71B and 79 (as amended from 10 June 2025). The law changes from time to time, so please get advice about your own matter before relying on this general information.
07 / SPEAK WITH US
Speak with Aegis Law Group
This article is general information about Australian family law, not legal advice. Property settlements turn on their facts.
Call Aegis Law Group on (07) 3709 7610 for an assessment of your position.
(07) 3709 7610 BRISBANE OFFICE33 Queen Street, Brisbane
