The 2024 Family Law Amendment Act: What’s Changed for Property Settlements

Family law doesn’t stand still, and the reforms introduced by the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 — which received Royal Assent on 10 December 2024, with the property-related changes taking effect from 10 June 2025 — represent one of the more significant updates to property settlement law in recent years. If your separation involves family violence, a beloved pet, or simply a property matter that hasn’t yet been finalised, these changes may directly affect your outcome.

Here’s what’s changed, and why it matters.

The Four-Step Process Remains — But It’s Now More Explicit

The Amendment Act codifies the well-established approach courts already took to property settlements, making the process clearer in the legislation itself. The Court must still consider whether it is just and equitable to adjust the parties’ property interests at all — this consideration now more explicitly runs through the entire decision-making process, from identifying each party’s legal and equitable interests in property, through to assessing contributions and future needs.

For most separating couples, this won’t dramatically change the outcome of a settlement — but it does provide greater clarity and consistency in how matters are assessed, which is a welcome development for anyone trying to understand where they stand.

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Family Violence Now Has a Clearer, Broader Role

One of the most significant changes is the more explicit recognition of economic or financial abuse as a form of family violence within the Act. The reforms move existing examples of economic abuse into their own dedicated provision and expand on conduct such as unreasonably denying a partner financial autonomy.

Practically, this means the Court must now more clearly consider the economic effect of family violence — including behaviour like sabotaging a partner’s employment, forcing them into debt, controlling shared finances, or deliberately damaging property to reduce its value — when determining a property settlement. For many people who have experienced this kind of conduct, the changes provide a clearer legislative pathway to have that impact properly accounted for in the outcome, rather than treated as a background circumstance.

Family Pets Are No Longer “Just Property”

Perhaps the most publicly discussed change: pets are now recognised under a new legal category of “companion animal,” separate from ordinary property. The Court can make interim and final orders — including by consent — determining sole ownership of a companion animal, its transfer to another person, or its sale. Notably, the Court cannot order shared ownership or shared care arrangements, meaning pet disputes still require a clear, single outcome.

In assessing who should retain a pet, the Court can take into account factors such as who has primarily cared for and paid for the animal, and — significantly — any history of family violence involving the pet, including threats or harm used as a means of coercion or control. This reform responds directly to well-documented patterns where pets are used to intimidate a partner or delay them from leaving an unsafe relationship.

What This Means If You’re Currently Separating

These changes apply to property proceedings that commenced on or after 10 June 2025, and to arrangements not yet finalised. If your matter is already underway, hasn’t yet been resolved, or you’re only now turning your mind to separation, it’s worth understanding how these updated provisions may apply to your specific circumstances — particularly if family violence or a shared pet forms part of the picture.

Why Legislative Change Increases the Value of Early Advice

Whenever family law legislation is updated, there is a period where practical application is still being tested through real cases. Relying on outdated general information — including older blog posts, forum advice, or assumptions based on how a friend’s settlement worked years ago — can mean missing entitlements the law now clearly recognises, or misunderstanding how a pet or a history of financial control will actually be treated.

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Contact Our Accredited Family Law Specialists.

Book an Appointment with Our Lawyers or call free (1800) 217 217

How Aylward Game Solicitors Can Assist

Staying current with legislative change is central to the advice we provide. Our family law team can explain exactly how the 2024 reforms apply to your circumstances — whether that’s ensuring the economic impact of family violence is properly accounted for in a settlement, or resolving arrangements for a family pet in a way that reflects the new framework.

Wherever circumstances reasonably permit, we favour a collaborative, dispute-resolution-focused approach to reaching these outcomes — through negotiation or mediation — which is typically faster, less costly, and less stressful than contested court proceedings. Where family violence is a factor, we also ensure your safety and wellbeing inform the process at every stage, and we’re fully prepared to pursue formal Court proceedings where that is genuinely the appropriate path.

If you have questions about how these changes affect your situation, contact Aylward Game Solicitors for advice grounded in the current law.