Spousal and de facto maintenance

About spousal and de facto maintenance

Spousal and de facto maintenance is financial support that a person pays to the current or former spouse, or former de facto partner, who is unable to adequately support themselves.

Maintenance is usually paid as:

• regular payments, such as weekly or monthly payments, or
• payment of specific expenses, such as rent or bills.

In some cases, it can be paid:

• as a lump sum
• by transferring property, or
• by allowing the recipient to use an asset, such as a car.

The aim of maintenance is to help the recipient pay their reasonable living expenses. It is not compensation.

Maintenance and tax

Maintenance payments:

• are not taxable income for the person who receives them
• cannot be claimed as a tax deduction by the person who pays them, and
• don’t need to be included in either person’s tax returns.

For more information, see Amounts you do not include as income on the Australian Taxation Office website.

Duty of financial support

You and your ex-partner have a duty to financially support each other, if one of you cannot support yourself, and the other person can afford to help.

You or your ex-partner may be able claim financial support if:

• you are or were married, or were in a de facto relationship, and
• one person can’t meet their reasonable living expenses from their own income or assets for one of the recognised reasons, and
• the other person has the capacity to pay maintenance.

You must meet all of these requirements.

There is no time limit for this duty. The duty does not automatically end when you separate or divorce. It can continue for many years while both people are still alive.

However, there are time limits to applying to the court for maintenance orders.

For more information, see Duty of financial support by married and de facto couples.

Maintenance agreements

If it is safe, you and your ex-partner should try to reach an agreement about maintenance. 

If you have an agreement about maintenance, you don’t have to go to mediation or court. You can:

• keep it informal
• make a binding maintenance agreement.

If you want your agreement to be made into court orders, you can apply for consent orders.

For more information, see Spousal and de facto maintenance agreements.

Going to court

If you and your ex-partner can’t agree about maintenance, the court can make maintenance orders.

Before you can apply for maintenance orders, you must follow the pre-action procedures, unless you are exempt.

For more information, see Pre-action procedures in property cases.

If you apply for maintenance orders, you are the applicant, and your spouse is the respondent.

You will need to show the court that you need financial support because:

• you are caring for your child
• of your health, disability or age
• you don’t have the necessary skills to get a job
• of other good reasons.

You will also have to show that your ex-partner can pay maintenance.

For more information, see Going to court for spousal or de facto maintenance.

After court

If the court makes an order for maintenance, you may be able to:

• apply for a review within 21 days, or
• appeal within 28 days.

You may also be able to apply to

• end (discharge) an order
• stop (suspend) an order
• restart (revive) an order, or
• change (vary) an order.

Aa maintenance order will automatically end:

• on the date stated in the order
• when the person receiving maintenance re-marries, unless the court orders otherwise, or
• when either person dies.

If your ex-partner doesn’t follow the maintenance orders, you may be able to take steps enforce them.

For more information, see After the court makes a decision in your maintenance case.

Property settlements

If you have separated from your partner, you may need to negotiate maintenance, and a property settlement to divide your assets.

Property settlements and maintenance are separate issues, but you can deal with them at the same time.

For more information, see Property settlements.

Child support and child maintenance

Childbirth maintenance

If you and your ex-partner have separated, and are expecting, or have recently had, a new baby, you may need to sort out childbirth maintenance.

Childbirth maintenance is money paid by the father to help cover the mother’s living and medical expenses related to the pregnancy and birth of the child. It is sometimes called childbearing expenses.

The father of a baby, who is not married to the mother, has a legal duty to help support the mother around the time of the baby’s birth.

Childbirth maintenance is different to spousal or de facto maintenance, child support or child maintenance.

Child support

Child support is money paid by one parent to another parent to cover the costs of caring of their child under 18.

Urgent child maintenance

Urgent child maintenance is money paid by one parent to another parent to cover their child’s immediate expenses. It covers the period after a child support application is submitted until it is decided.

Adult child maintenance

Adult child maintenance is money paid by a parent to another parent to support the care of a child over 18.

For more information, see Child support.

Last updated: August 2026