Duty of financial support by married and de facto couples

What is the duty of financial support?

You and your ex-partner have a duty to financially support each other if:

• one of you can’t support yourself from your own income and assets, and
• the other person can afford to provide support.

This duty starts:

• when you marry, or
• when your de facto relationship ends.

This duty applies equally to both men and women.

This is different from childbirth maintenance, which only applies to the father of a child.

The duty to provide financial support can continue until one of you dies. However, there are time limits for applying to the court for a maintenance order.

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

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

Married couples

The duty to financially support your spouse starts when you get married.

This means, you may be able to get spousal maintenance even if you:

• haven’t separated from your spouse, or
• have separated but are not yet divorced.

You may also be able to get spousal maintenance after:

• you get a divorce, or
• your marriage is annulled.

If you were married overseas, you may still be able to apply for maintenance if your marriage was legally recognised in the country where it took place.

If your marriage was not legally recognised, you may still have a duty to provide financial support as a de facto partner.

De facto couples

If you were in a de facto relationship, you must be separated before you can apply for maintenance. Unlike married couples, the duty to financially support each other only starts after your de facto relationship ends.

A de facto relationship is a domestic relationship between two adults who live together as a couple but are not married or related to each other.

To work out whether you were in a de facto relationship, the court may consider:

• the length of your relationship
• whether you lived together, and for how long
• your financial arrangements
• whether you own any property together
• how you cared for your children
• how other people saw your relationship.

You may be able to apply for maintenance orders if:

• you were in a de facto relationship for at least two years
• you have a child together
• your relationship was registered under a State or Territory law, or
• you or your ex-partner have made substantial contributions and it would a serious injustice if the court didn’t make an order.

You must also have a connection to Australia. This generally means that you and your ex-partner live in Australia now or were living in Australia when your relationship ended.

Unable to support yourself

You may be able to get maintenance if you can’t meet your reasonable living expenses yourself from your own income and assets.

Whether a person can support themselves depends on their individual circumstances. The court looks at what is a reasonable standard of living in their situation.

living expenses of a spouse or de facto partner, not a child of the relationship.

Maintenance is for the living expenses of a spouse or de facto partner. It is not for the expenses of a child.

A child's expenses may be covered by:

• child support, or
• a child maintenance order.

Maintenance also does not cover expenses related to pregnancy or the birth of a child. These expenses may be covered by childbirth maintenance.

For more information, see Child support.

Ability to pay

You and your ex-partner only have a duty to financially support each other if you can afford to do so.

When deciding whether a person can pay maintenance, the court will looks at:

• their income
• their property and other financial resources
• their ability to earning an income, and
• their own reasonable living expenses.

The court will look at how much money a person has left after paying their own reasonable living expenses.

The court won’t make a maintenance order unless the person can afford to pay, even if the other person needs financial support.

If the court decides that maintenance should be paid, it will decide:

• how much should be paid, and
• how the payments should be made.

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

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

Last updated: August 2026