Your Guide to Divorce Application Online NSW

This guide will serve as a reference for a smooth divorce application online NSW (New South Wales).  

Some things in life don’t usually work out the way we thought it would be. That’s why we have divorce. Divorce is the legal termination of a marriage. It officially dissolves the legal bond between you and your spouse. In Australia, it’s granted by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA).

NSW Divorce Application Overview

Before going through the details of divorce application online NSW, let us first discuss the overview of divorce in New South Wales, Australia. 

First is that you must prove that your marriage has “irretrievably broken down” in order to be granted a divorce. The fact that there is no chance of the relationship picking up again after being apart for at least a year proves this condition.

One individual (sole application), or both (joint application), may start the divorce process. If you were validly married, you must file a copy of your Marriage Certificate with your Application for Divorce. If your Marriage Certificate is not in English (married overseas), you will need to have your marriage certificate translated and an Affidavit completed by the translator.

Second, you must be eligible. Thus, you and your spouse must:

• hold an Australian citizenship, 
• reside in Australia and consider it your permanent home, or 
• be an Australian citizen who has lived there regularly for at least a year prior to the divorce application.

If you fit these requirements, you can file for divorce in Australia even if you were married abroad. However, if your marriage has lasted less than two years, you will either need to: 

• obtain permission from the court to file for a divorce without the counselling certificate,
• attend family counselling sessions and obtain a certificate of counselling.

FLOWCHART: How to Apply for a Divorce?  Whether you are filing for a divorce alone or with your husband, this flowchart explains how to do it in court. Along with useful links to further resources that may be helpful, it also offers checklists of important papers that you might need to submit to the court in support of your application.

Divorce Application Online NSW

Divorce application online NSW will require you to use the Commonwealth Courts Portal. Through this portal, you can:

• access your court file,
• eFile your application, 
• access court orders anytime.

Here’s a step-by-step process on how to file a divorce application online NSW:

1. Preliminaries

• Register to the Portal. If you haven’t registered yet, go to www.comcourts.gov.au and click ‘New users can register now’. Then, create your unique username and password.
• Start a new file. Select this option even if you have filed other family law proceedings before. Divorce is dealt with separately to other family law proceedings.
• Filing on your own or on behalf of a law firm. There’s a box that will ask you to confirm whether you’re filing on your own or on behalf of a law firm. Check which option will apply to you.
• Read the eFiling obligations. 
• Select Application for divorce. 
• Select the appropriate court. If you live in Western Australia, you should get in touch with the Family Court of Western Australia, which handles divorce cases exclusively in Western Australia.
• Add a title or description to your application. This will allow you to easily locate your application later on.
• Complete Parts A to F and then Save.
• Print preview. Select this option to see if the contents are complete and correct.
• Upload documents. Prepare the documents beforehand. This way, it will be easier for you to upload them when the online application requires. However, the files you need to upload will vary based on how you responded to the questions in Parts A through F. 
• Lock and continue.

2. Printing and Submission

This part of your divorce application online NSW will require you to sign the Affidavit of eFiling Application (Divorce). So, before you proceed, make sure you have this document.

• Print your application. Sign the Affidavit for eFiling Application (Divorce). This must be done in front of a lawyer or a Justice of the Peace (JP) if the applicant is the only one submitting the application. 

However, both parties to a joint application must sign the affidavit in front of a JP or attorney. Additionally, both of you may sign the affidavit simultaneously or separately, but a lawyer or JP must witness each signature (if the signatures are witnessed simultaneously, it may be by the same lawyer or JP). 

Also, two affidavits can be uploaded together if neither party can sign the document.

• Upload the signed Affidavit for eFiling Application. 
• Marriage, Families, and Separation brochure. It is mandatory for the parties to read this brochure. When serving the other party with the documents, you must include this document if you filed a sole application.
• Submission and application fee payment. 
• Select a court date. 
• Serve a copy of your application and its supporting documents. If you chose to file the divorce application online NSW solely, you must provide the service documents to the other party.

Finally, the Court will verify that the documents are complete and comply with the filing requirements after you submit your application. They will notify you in cases where you must correct some inaccuracies in the papers if they don’t match the standards for submission.

At the court date, the judge will decide if the requirements for divorce have been satisfied or whether the information in the application is adequate for the divorce to be granted. 

Divorce Application Online NSW: Adding Further Documents

Additionally, your circumstances might require you to submit further documents to support your divorce application online NSW. To eFile additional documents, just go to the Portal and provide your file number. Once you locate your divorce file, follow these steps:

1. Scan and save as PDFS.
2. Select the Available Files tab and click on your file number.
3. Select + next to Application for Divorce and choose the Add Document button. 
4. Read the obligations and confirm.
5. Select Document type menu and choose the type of document you intend to upload.
6. Choose File and select the document you want to upload.
7. Click Upload.

JB Solicitors’ Divorce Lawyers Can Help You

The divorce attorneys at JB Solicitors will help you with the application process, including how to file appropriately, what paperwork you need, and how to make sure your spouse is served correctly (if it’s a sole application filing).

We can also carefully go over your divorce application online NSW to make sure no essential information has been left out and that all the documentary requirements are correct. By doing this, we can avoid further delays and issues. We can also help with various steps that can occur during the divorce proceedings such as:

• Property settlement
• Your affidavit explaining how your marriage ended or any other affecting factors that resulted in the divorce.
• Representation during a divorce hearing and filing a divorce order.

Seek legal advice and contact us today for a consultation.