A split requires either a court order (including consent orders the parties agree on) or a superannuation agreement made as part of a binding financial agreement. In practice, most splits happen by consent orders as part of the overall settlement. The process has some machinery to it:

• Valuing the interest. For most accumulation funds, the balance is the value. Defined benefit interests and some older fund types need a specific valuation method.
• Getting fund information. A member, their spouse, or someone negotiating a superannuation agreement with them can ask the fund trustee for information about the member's interest (s 90XZB), using a declaration in the prescribed form (the Form 6 declaration in the court's Superannuation Information Kit). The trustee must not tell the member about a request made by someone else, and must not give the member's address to the spouse.
• Procedural fairness to the trustee. The trustee must be given notice of a proposed splitting order before it can be made, whether by agreement or after a hearing. For consent orders, the trustee must be notified in writing of the proposed terms at least 28 days before the orders are filed (rule 10.06), unless it consents in writing sooner. In contested cases, the application must be served on the trustee, and the trustee told the terms sought at least 28 days before the trial (rules 1.12(5) and (6)).
• Implementing the split. Once orders are made, a sealed copy goes to the trustee, which then gives effect to the split under the fund's rules and the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2001.

Not always. Sometimes the fairer and more practical outcome is an asset swap: one party keeps more super, the other keeps more of the house or cash. Which structure suits depends on age, housing needs, liquidity and the overall pool. The point of advice is not to push a split, it is to price the options so the trade you make is an informed one.

Superannuation is step one territory: it has to be in the pool before anything can be divided. For the full framework, read the four step property settlement process.

Sources: 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), Part VIIIB, s 90XZB; Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021, rr 1.12(5)-(6) and 10.06; FCFCOA, Superannuation. The law changes from time to time, so please get advice about your own matter before relying on this general information.