Property Settlement Disclosure Australia: What You Must Provide and What Happens if You Don't
- Kaela Louise
- Jun 16, 2022
- 4 min read
If you are going through a property settlement in Australia, you have a legal obligation to provide the other party with full and frank disclosure of your financial circumstances. This obligation applies whether your matter is resolved by agreement, through mediation or in court, and it applies from the very beginning of the process.
Understanding what disclosure requires, and what the consequences are for failing to meet that obligation, is one of the most important things you can know before entering negotiations or proceedings.
What Is Full and Frank Disclosure in Property Settlement?
Full and frank disclosure is the requirement that each party to a family law property settlement provides the other with complete and accurate information about their financial position. This duty starts at the pre-action procedure stage before the case commences and continues until the case is finalised.
From 10 June 2025, the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) elevated the duty of disclosure from the court rules into the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) itself, introducing statutory obligations with potentially serious legal consequences for non-compliance. Previously this obligation sat within Rule 6.06 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021. The nature of the obligation remains the same, but its elevation into the Act itself signals the seriousness with which the law treats transparency in property settlement proceedings.
What Documents Are Required for Property Settlement Disclosure in Australia?
Disclosure must cover a party's total direct and indirect financial circumstances, including all sources of earnings, interest, income, property and other financial resources, whether held personally, through another person, or through corporate structures, trusts or companies.
In practical terms, the documents you will typically be required to provide include:
Your last three years of tax returns and assessments
Recent payslips and your current employment contract
Bank statements for all personal, joint and business accounts for the last 12 months
Statements for all credit cards, mortgages and loans for the last 12 months
Current superannuation statements for all active accounts
If you have an ABN, your last four business activity statements
If you have an interest in a trust, partnership or company, the last three years of financial statements
You must also disclose any disposal of property, including sale, transfer, assignment or gifting, that occurred either in the 12 months immediately prior to separation or at any time after separation and before settlement.
This list is not exhaustive. The documents required will depend on the complexity of your financial circumstances and the issues in dispute.
Does Disclosure Apply Even if We Are Resolving Our Matter by Agreement?
Yes. The duty of disclosure is ongoing until the conclusion of the matter, either by way of a final court order or private agreement. Compliance is mandatory and the Court takes a critical view of those who disregard it.
Many people assume that because they are attempting to resolve their matter amicably, formal disclosure obligations do not apply. This is not correct. Full and frank disclosure is required regardless of how you intend to finalise your matter, and any agreement reached without proper disclosure may be vulnerable to being set aside at a later date.
What Are the Consequences of Failing to Disclose?
The consequences of failing to meet your disclosure obligations are serious. Where a party fails to provide complete information, or signs documents confirming full disclosure has been provided when it has not, the Court has a range of responses available, including:
Ordering the non-compliant party to pay the other party's legal costs
Refusing to allow undisclosed information to be used as evidence
Staying or dismissing part of the non-compliant party's case
Imposing fines or imprisonment where the failure amounts to contempt of court
What if Final Orders Have Already Been Made?
If final orders have been made and it later comes to light that one party failed to provide full disclosure, those orders may be set aside or varied. You can make an application to the Court to have the orders reviewed on the basis of the information that was not disclosed at the time.
This is one of the reasons disclosure obligations are taken so seriously throughout the process. An agreement or order reached without complete information may not provide the certainty either party expects.
What About Superannuation?
Superannuation is an asset that must be disclosed as part of property settlement proceedings. If you believe your former partner has not fully disclosed their superannuation interests, there are mechanisms available to obtain that information. We have covered this in detail in our post on superannuation disclosure in family law proceedings.
Not Sure Where You Stand With Property Settlement Disclosure?
Understanding your disclosure obligations and making sure you are receiving complete information from the other party are both areas where clear legal advice makes a significant difference to the outcome of your matter.
In a Strategic Advisory Session, we will work through your specific circumstances, identify any disclosure concerns and give you a clear strategy for moving forward, at a fixed fee and with no ongoing obligation.
Not sure if this is the right starting point? Book a free 15-minute introductory call and we will point you in the right direction.
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