Spousal Maintenance Lawyers Sydney

Sydney CBD, Mascot & Gladesville

After a separation, one partner may not be able to cover their living costs while the other can help. Spousal maintenance is the law's answer to that gap. Whether you need support or have been asked to pay it, our spousal maintenance lawyers are led by Accredited Family Law Specialists and give you clear advice on where you stand.

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Overview: What Is Spousal Maintenance?

Spousal maintenance is financial support paid by one former partner to the other when that person cannot support themselves adequately. It is separate from dividing your property and separate from child support. It can be paid as regular payments, as a lump sum, or by transferring property.

Spousal maintenance under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) is federal law. The same rules apply in NSW as in every other state, and they cover both married and de facto couples. Maintenance is not automatic. It depends on two things: the need of the person asking for it, and the ability of the other person to pay.

Not every separation involves a maintenance claim. But where one partner stepped back from work to raise children, or has health or age limits on earning, it can matter a great deal. Early advice helps you understand whether a claim is realistic, and how it fits with your property settlement.

Book a consultation to talk through your situation with one of our family lawyers.

Who Is Entitled to Spousal Maintenance in Australia?

A former partner must pay maintenance only if both parts of a two-part test are met (s 72(1); s 90SF(1)):

Need: the person asking cannot support themselves adequately, and
Capacity: the other person is reasonably able to pay.

The Act names three reasons a person may be unable to support themselves:

They care for a child of the relationship who is under 18
Their age, or a physical or mental incapacity, prevents them from working in suitable employment
Any other adequate reason

The Act does not define that last category. Whether a reason is adequate depends on your circumstances, weighed against the factors explained below.

Married Couples

If you are married, you can apply for spousal maintenance after you separate, before any divorce, and for up to 12 months after your divorce order takes effect (s 44(3)). You do not have to wait for a divorce to ask for support. If you are planning a divorce, our separation and divorce page explains how the process works. We can advise you on whether to seek maintenance now, alongside your divorce and property settlement, so you do not lose time.

De Facto Spousal Maintenance

De facto partners can claim maintenance on the same need and capacity test as married couples (s 90SF(1)). There are three differences from the rules for married couples:

Timing: an order can only be made after the relationship has broken down (s 90SE(1)).
Threshold: you must meet at least one of these (s 90SB):
- the relationship lasted at least 2 years in total
- there is a child of the relationship
- the relationship was registered
- you made substantial contributions, and refusing an order would cause you serious injustice
Where you lived: there are requirements about where you both lived (s 90SD).

Whether you were in a de facto relationship at all can be disputed. Our de facto relationships page explains how the court decides that question. If the existence or length of your relationship is disputed, we gather the evidence the court looks at and advise you on whether the threshold is met.

What the Court Considers

There is no formula for spousal maintenance. The court must look only at the matters listed in the Act, but that list is wide and ends with anything else the justice of the case requires (s 75(2); s 90SF(3)). The main factors include:

The age and health of each of you
Each person's income, property and financial resources, and their capacity to work
Who cares for any children under 18, including the need to provide them with suitable housing
The commitments each of you has to support yourselves and anyone else you must support
A standard of living that is reasonable in all the circumstances
Whether maintenance would let the person retrain, study or set up a business to earn an adequate income
How much the person contributed to the other's income, earning capacity and assets
The length of the relationship and how it affected the person's earning capacity
The financial circumstances of any new partner either of you lives with
The terms of your property settlement, any child support, and any binding financial agreement

Because the court weighs these together, two couples with similar incomes can end up in very different positions. Our family lawyers work through each factor with you, test the figures on both sides and give you a realistic view of where you stand before you negotiate.

Family Violence and Its Financial Effects

Since June 2025, the Act requires the court to consider the effect of any family violence by one partner against the other (s 75(2)(aa); s 90SF(3)(aa)). This includes its effect on the other factors, such as a person's health or their ability to work.

Family violence includes economic or financial abuse. One example in the Act is unreasonably withholding the money a partner needs for reasonable living expenses, including when they depend on the other person for support (s 4AB(2A)(b)). If this has been part of your relationship, it is relevant to a maintenance claim. We can advise you on how family violence, including financial abuse, bears on your claim, and help you present that evidence to the court.

If you are worried about your safety, our family violence lawyers can also advise you on protection orders.

Centrelink and Other Benefits

A common worry is that receiving, or being able to receive, a Centrelink payment rules out maintenance. It does not. When deciding a maintenance claim, the court must ignore the applicant's entitlement to an income-tested pension, allowance or benefit (s 75(3); s 90SF(4)).

In other words, the person paying cannot argue that the government should support their former partner instead.

Spousal Maintenance, Property Settlement and Child Support

Spousal maintenance rarely stands alone. It sits alongside how you divide your property and how your children are supported, and each affects the others.

How Maintenance Fits With Your Property Settlement

A property settlement divides the assets and debts you have now. Spousal maintenance deals with ongoing need. They are separate claims, but they affect each other. The court looks at each person's property and financial resources, and at the terms of any property order made or proposed (s 75(2)(b), (n); s 90SF(3)(b), (n)).

The two are often negotiated together and recorded in the same set of consent orders. If part of a lump sum or property transfer is meant to be maintenance, the order must say so and specify how much. Otherwise, it is treated as not being maintenance at all (s 77A; s 90SH).

The same time limits also apply to both claims. Our property settlement lawyers can help you resolve both at once.

Spousal Maintenance vs Child Support

Child support is money for your children. Spousal maintenance is money for a former partner. Child support is usually worked out by Services Australia using a set formula, and you can use the government's child support estimator to get an idea of the amount. There is no equivalent formula or calculator for spousal maintenance.

The two still interact. Caring for a child under 18 is one reason a person may be unable to support themselves. And the court must take into account any child support a parent has paid, will pay or may have to pay (s 75(2)(na); s 90SF(3)(q)). Our child support page explains how child support is assessed. We advise on spousal maintenance and child support together, so the two arrangements work as one plan for your family.

Types of Spousal Maintenance Orders

The court can shape a maintenance order to fit the need, from short-term help while a case is under way to a single final payment. You can also make an agreement binding without a hearing.

Urgent Maintenance

If you have an immediate need for financial help and the court cannot decide the full claim straight away, it can order payments until the case is decided (s 77; s 90SG). This is often called urgent or interim maintenance. It can help cover rent, bills and day-to-day costs while the matter is resolved.

Periodic and Lump Sum Orders

The court can order weekly, monthly or other regular payments, a lump sum, or a transfer of property by way of maintenance (s 80(1); s 90SS(1)). Orders can last for a fixed term, until further order, or for life.

Where it can, the court must make orders that finally settle the financial relationship between former partners and avoid further court cases (s 81; s 90ST). A lump sum can sometimes achieve that clean break.

Formalising an Agreement

You do not need a judge to decide maintenance if you can agree. But how you record the agreement matters. If you are married, a private written maintenance agreement that is not a binding financial agreement has no legal effect (s 86A). Whether you were married or de facto, there are two ways to make an agreement binding:

Consent orders: the court makes orders in the terms you have agreed, without a hearing (s 80(1)(j); s 90SS(1)(j)).
A binding financial agreement: a private contract that meets strict requirements, including independent legal advice for each of you. Even then, a court can still order maintenance if, when the agreement took effect, a party could not support themselves without an income-tested pension, allowance or benefit (s 90F; s 90UI). Our prenuptial agreement page explains how these agreements work.

Spousal Maintenance Time Limits

Strict time limits apply to spousal maintenance claims, and they differ for married and de facto couples. Missing one does not always end a claim, but it makes it harder.

Married Couples: 12 Months After Your Divorce Order

You must apply within 12 months after your divorce order takes effect (s 44(3)). The clock does not start when you separate. It starts when the divorce order takes effect. Before then, no time limit runs.

This limit does not apply to applications to change or end an existing maintenance order.

De Facto Couples: 2 Years After Separation

You must apply within 2 years after the end of your de facto relationship (s 44(5)). There is no divorce order, so the clock starts from the date you separated.

Applying After the Deadline

You can apply outside these periods if both of you consent, or with the court's permission (leave) (s 44(3), (5)). For a maintenance claim, the court can only give leave if it is satisfied of one of two things (s 44(4); s 44(6)):

Refusing leave would cause hardship to you or a child, or
When the time limit ran out, your circumstances were such that you could not have supported yourself without an income-tested pension, allowance or benefit

Leave is not automatic, and getting it adds cost and delay. If you think you may need maintenance, get advice well before the deadline.

Changing or Ending Spousal Maintenance

A maintenance order is not set in stone. It can be changed when circumstances change, and some events end it altogether.

Varying an Order

Either of you can apply to change an order. The court can discharge it, suspend it, revive it or vary the amount (s 83(1); s 90SI(1)). To increase or decrease the amount, the court must be satisfied of at least one of these (s 83(2); s 90SI(3)):

The circumstances of either person have changed enough to justify it. This includes the person receiving maintenance entering a stable and continuing de facto relationship
The cost of living has changed enough to justify it, and at least 12 months have passed since the last cost-of-living change
For orders made by consent, the amount is not proper or adequate
Material facts were withheld, or evidence given was false

A decrease or discharge can be backdated, and money overpaid after that date can be recovered (s 83(6), (6A), (6B); s 90SI(7)-(9)).

When Spousal Maintenance Ends

A spousal maintenance order ends if either person dies (s 82(1), (2); s 90SJ(1)). It also ends if the person receiving maintenance remarries, or, for a de facto partner, marries, unless the court orders otherwise in special circumstances (s 82(4); s 90SJ(2)). They must tell the payer without delay. If the person paying remarries, the order continues, although new family commitments can be a reason to apply to vary it.

A new de facto relationship does not automatically end an order. It is a change in circumstances that can support an application to vary or discharge it.

If You Have Been Asked to Pay Spousal Maintenance

Receiving a demand or a court application for maintenance can be unsettling. You only have to pay if your former partner cannot support themselves adequately and you are reasonably able to pay. Your own commitments count, including supporting yourself, any children, and anyone else you must support (s 75(2)(d), (e); s 90SF(3)(d), (e)).

What you can do:

Do not ignore it: If you receive a court application, a deadline to respond will apply.
Disclose fully: Both of you must give full and frank financial disclosure. In a maintenance-only case, the person responding must bring their latest tax return and assessment, 12 months of bank records and a recent pay slip to the first court date (Family Law Rules, r 6.06(8)).
Check the timing: If the application is outside the time limit, the other person needs your consent or the court's leave.
Think about a final outcome: A lump sum or property adjustment may end the financial relationship more cleanly than open-ended payments.

We advise people on both sides of spousal maintenance claims and will tell you plainly how the factors apply to you.

The Spousal Maintenance Process (Step-by-Step)

Initial Consultation and Assessment. We look at your income, expenses, assets and the history of your relationship. We explain whether a claim is likely to be made out, the time limits that apply, and how maintenance fits with your property settlement and child support.
Disclosure and Negotiation. Before going to court, the court's Family Law Rules require each person to make a genuine effort to resolve the dispute. That means exchanging financial information, trying dispute resolution where it is safe to do so and, if that does not resolve it, sending a written notice with a genuine offer before filing (Family Law Rules, Sch 1). These steps may not apply where there is family violence or the matter is urgent (Family Law Rules, r 4.01). Matters can settle at this stage, often with the help of a mediator.‍
Formalising an Agreement. If you reach an agreement, we record it in consent orders or a binding financial agreement, so that it can be enforced.‍
Court Proceedings if Agreement Fails. If agreement is not possible, we file an application with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, together with a Financial Statement (Family Law Rules, r 6.06(4)). If the need is urgent, we can seek urgent maintenance while the full claim is decided.

Why Choose VRT Lawyers for Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance turns on detail: living expenses, earning capacity, and how the claim fits with property and children. We bring four decades of family law practice to that detail.

Daniella Ruggero, Principal and Accredited Family Law Specialist at VRT Lawyers in her Sydney office.

Tyson Beckman, associate at VRT Lawyers, working at his desk

Tayla McPhee, solicitor at VRT Lawyers, speaking with a colleague at her desk

Genesis Burbano, solicitor at VRT Lawyers, taking notes

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FAQs

How long does spousal support last in Australia?

There is no set period. The court can make an order for a fixed term, until further order, or for life (s 80(1)(h); s 90SS(1)(h)). An order can be for a set time, for example while a person retrains or returns to work. An order can be changed if circumstances change, and it ends on death, or if the person receiving it remarries, unless the court orders otherwise.

Is there a spousal maintenance calculator?

No. Unlike child support, there is no formula and no government calculator for spousal maintenance. The court weighs the factors in the Act against your actual circumstances. Online "calculators" cannot do that. The best starting point is a realistic list of your income and reasonable living expenses, which we can review with you.

Can a husband claim spousal maintenance?

Yes. The law is the same for men and women. The test is need and capacity to pay, not gender (s 72(1)).

Do I have to support my former spouse after divorce?

Only if they cannot support themselves adequately and you are reasonably able to pay. There is no automatic duty. A claim must also be made within 12 months after the divorce order takes effect, unless you consent or the court grants leave.

Can I claim spousal maintenance before my divorce?

Yes, if you are married. You can apply any time after separation and before a divorce. De facto partners can apply once the relationship has broken down, within 2 years.

Does a new relationship end spousal maintenance?

Remarriage ends an order for a married partner, and marriage ends an order for a de facto partner, unless the court orders otherwise in special circumstances. Moving in with a new partner does not end an order automatically, but it can be grounds to vary or discharge it.

Can spousal maintenance be paid as a lump sum?

Yes. The court can order a lump sum, paid at once or by instalments, or a transfer of property by way of maintenance (s 80(1)(a), (ba); s 90SS(1)(a), (c)). The order must state which part is maintenance.

How do I stop paying spousal maintenance?

You should not simply stop paying. A court order stays in force until it ends under the Act or a court changes it, and unpaid amounts can be enforced against you. If your circumstances, or your former partner's, have changed, you can apply to vary, suspend or discharge the order (s 83; s 90SI).

Is spousal maintenance taxable?

Generally, no. Regular maintenance payments you receive from a current or former spouse or de facto partner are exempt from income tax (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) s 51-50). There is an exception where the payer divested income-producing assets, or diverted income they would otherwise be taxed on, to make the payments. The person paying generally cannot claim a tax deduction, because the tax law does not allow deductions for private or domestic expenses (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) s 8-1(2)). For lump sums or questions about your own tax position, speak with your accountant.

Do I need a lawyer for spousal maintenance?

You are not legally required to have one. But the outcome depends on how the evidence of need and capacity is presented, and on getting the time limits right. If legal costs are a concern, VRT Lawyers offers flexible funding options through JustFund for eligible clients.

Still have questions?

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