How long will my divorce take?

Understand the timeline for your divorce: filing an application, court hearings, and post-finalization steps. Learn about the 6-8 week process, legal requirements, and next steps after your divorce is finalized.

When you file an Application for Divorce the Court will assign it a hearing date usually within about 6 to 8 weeks of the date it is filed. This then allows you time to arrange for personal service of the documents upon the other party which is required for sole Applications for Divorce and to file your evidence of service which would include an Affidavit of Service and the signed Acknowledgement of Service signed by the other party. If it is a joint Application for Divorce you should not need to serve the documents.

At the Divorce Hearing, which may not actually require your attendance, the Registrar will check that your Application meets the requirements for a Divorce to be granted (that you were married, that you have been separated for more than 12 months etc) and that the other party has been properly served if required. If all requirements for a Divorce to be granted have been met, the Court will Order that you be divorced and that the divorce takes effect one month and one day after the hearing.

You will then be able to download the Order from the Court portal on the date the divorce takes effect and you are legally divorced from that date. You would then, if not already complete, have twelve months from the date the Divorce Order was effective to either file an Application for Consent Orders, sign a Binding Financial Agreement or commence proceedings by filing an Initiating Application if you have not already finalised property settlement.

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