Before making an application, you need to comply with the pre-action procedures, which are designed to help you come to an agreement.
If you reached an agreement, you can apply for consent orders. If you need the Court to help you reach an agreement, you can make an application for property and financial orders.
To apply for property and financial orders, you need to file:
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If your case involves total net property (excluding your superannuation entitlements) of $500,000, or less, and there are no entities that might require expert investigation (such as companies or trusts) and you do not seek parenting orders, your case may be classified as a PPP500 case (Priority Property Pools under $500,000). If you believe your case will be a PPP500 case, you may file:
The Initiating Application form is to provide an overview of your case, and details of the orders you are requesting.
There is information on property and financial orders in the before you apply section.
Sometimes people want orders to be made to deal with arrangements until the final decision is made. These are called interim orders, and can be requested in Question 3 of the Initiating Application.
The Financial Statement (Form 13) gives the Court details of your property and financial assets and liabilities.
Read the Financial Statement Kit and then carefully complete each section. The Financial Statement Kit is the same as the Financial Statement (Form 13), but has additional information to help you complete the form.
You must make a full and frank disclosure of your financial position, and there are penalties for making false statements. See the Disclosure page for more information.
If you think your case is a PPP500 case, you should file a Financial Statement (PPP500) - Form 13PPP. This is a simplified form.
When you make an application for property and financial orders, you need to file an affidavit with the facts supporting your application.
The affidavit should set out the most important facts in support of the final orders and interim orders, if any are sought. For more information, see Affidavit supporting the application.
If your case is a PPP500 case, you should file a specialised PPP500 affidavit (Case Information Affidavit (PPP500) - Form NP3PPP).
After you complete the forms, you need to sign the affidavit and financial statement in front of an authorised witness. Information on who is an authorised witness can be found on the affidavit page.
After you have signed the affidavit and financial statement in front of an authorised witness, you will need to file the forms via the eCourts Portal. To assist with creating an eCourts Portal account and filing the application please see Using eCourts Portal for further information.
There is a fee for filing an application for Property and Financial orders. Visit the fees page for more information.
Once the application has been processed, you will receive an email from the Court advising that the documents are available on the eCourts Portal for download. The documents will include the date of your first hearing and are required to be served on all other parties.
A Registrar will then assess your application. If it has been classified as a PPP500 case, within 2 days of filing your documents, you will receive orders and further information from the Court.
You need to serve applications by special service. See the service page for more information.
If your case has been classified as a PPP500 case, you will also need to serve the orders and further information on the other party.
If you reach an agreement with the other party prior to the first hearing, the Judicial Officer may be able to finalise the proceedings at the hearing.
You can also reach an agreement with the other party at any time. Filing an application doesn't lock you into taking your case to trial, and you can ask the Court to make formal orders based on your agreement.
You can let the judicial office know your agreement at the hearing, or file a Minute of Consent Orders signed by all parties and ask a Court Registrar to deal with the case in his or her office.
Last updated: 27-Sep-2023
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