A divorce in Australia has two separate costs, and confusing them is the most common budgeting mistake people make. There is a fee the Court charges to file the application, and there is whatever you pay someone to prepare it. They are unrelated, and no lawyer can waive the first one.
This guide sets out both, using the fees that apply from 1 July 2026, and covers the costs people tend not to see coming.
The Court Filing Fee
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia charges a filing fee for an Application for Divorce. From 1 July 2026 that fee is:
- $1,170 for a standard application
- $390 if you qualify for the reduced fee
Federal court fees are indexed and usually change on 1 July, which is why older guides quote different numbers. The figures above are current, but fees move, so check the Court’s own fee page before you commit to a budget.
Who Qualifies for the Reduced Fee
You may be eligible for the reduced fee if you are the primary holder of a Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, or another card issued by Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs that certifies entitlement to a concession. Being a dependant on someone else’s card does not qualify.
You can also apply for a reduction on the basis of financial hardship, which is assessed separately.
If you are filing a joint application, both of you need to be eligible for the reduced fee to apply. If only one of you holds a concession card, the standard fee applies.
What Lawyers Charge, and Why It Varies So Much
The Court’s fee is fixed. Legal fees are not, and this is where the range gets wide.
Traditional family law firms typically bill by the hour. For a straightforward, uncontested divorce, that commonly lands somewhere between $1,500 and $5,000, though the number depends entirely on how many hours accumulate. Under hourly billing, a phone call to ask a question is a billable event. So is the email confirming what you discussed on that call.
That structure makes sense for genuinely complex work. For a divorce application where the facts are agreed and the task is procedural, it means the price is unknowable in advance, which is the part most people find hardest.
Fixed Fee, and What It Should Include
A fixed fee removes the uncertainty, but only if you check what sits inside it. Before you engage anyone, ask specifically:
- Is the Court filing fee included, or is it extra? (It is almost always extra.)
- Are phone calls and emails covered, or billed separately?
- Is service of the documents on your spouse included?
- What happens, and what does it cost, if the Court rejects the application and it has to be refiled?
The Cheapest Legitimate Option
The lowest-cost route is to prepare and file the application yourself. You pay the Court’s fee and nothing else. If you hold a concession card, that is $390 and no more.
This is a real option and for some people it is the right one. Australia’s divorce system is designed to be navigable without a lawyer, and the Court publishes guidance for self-represented applicants.
The risk is not legal, it is procedural. Applications are regularly delayed or rejected for reasons that have nothing to do with the merits:
- The affidavit is incomplete or incorrectly sworn
- A marriage certificate in another language has not been translated and certified
- Service on the spouse was not carried out or evidenced correctly
- The separation date is stated inconsistently across the documents
- Details of arrangements for children are missing where they are required
None of these are difficult problems. They are simply easy to get wrong the first time, and the cost of getting them wrong is delay.
Where ezylegal Sits
ezylegal offers a fixed-fee Simple Divorce package at $899, with the legal work delivered by ezylegal Law, an incorporated Australian legal practice. Every form is prepared and checked by a lawyer before it is filed. There is no hourly billing and no money held in trust.
The $1,170 Court filing fee is not included in that $899, and cannot be. It is the Court’s fee, and it is payable whoever prepares your application.
Who It Is For
The package is built for genuinely simple divorces, which means:
- You were married at least 12 months ago
- You have been separated for at least 12 months
- There are no children under 18
- There is no property, superannuation or debt left to divide
If any of those do not apply, a simple divorce package is the wrong product, and an honest provider will tell you so rather than sell it to you anyway.
The Costs People Do Not Budget For
Beyond the filing fee and legal fees, a few costs surface often enough to plan for:
| Cost | Typical range | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Process server | $100 – $300 | Sole applications, where the papers must be served on your spouse |
| Certified translation | $100 – $300 | Marriage certificate not in English |
| Marriage certificate copy | Varies by state | You have lost the original |
| Consent orders filing fee | $215 | You also need to formalise a property or parenting agreement |
That last one matters more than its size suggests, because it points at the most expensive misunderstanding in this whole area.
Divorce Is Not Property Settlement
A divorce order ends your marriage. It does not divide anything.
Divorce, property settlement and parenting arrangements are three separate processes with three separate costs. Ending the marriage does not split the house, the superannuation or the debts, and it does not decide where the children live.
If you also need to formalise how your assets are divided, that is usually done through an Application for Consent Orders, which carries its own Court filing fee of $215. It is a comparatively small fee for a document that makes an agreement binding and enforceable.
There is also a deadline that catches people out. You generally have 12 months from the date your divorce becomes final to apply for a property settlement. Miss it and you need the Court’s permission to proceed at all, which is neither automatic nor cheap.
This is why “how much does a divorce cost” is often the wrong question. The divorce itself is the cheap part. The expensive part is discovering, a year later, that nothing about the property was ever formalised.
How ezylegal helps: Not sure whether your situation is a simple divorce or something that needs property or parenting orders as well? Our AI intake assistant, Rachel Z, works through the questions with you before any legal work begins, so you find out what you actually need before you pay for anything. Start your case.
A Realistic Budget
For an uncontested divorce with no children under 18 and nothing to divide:
- Doing it yourself: $1,170, or $390 with a concession card
- Fixed-fee, lawyer-prepared: $899 plus the Court’s $1,170 (or $390)
- Traditional hourly firm: $1,500 – $5,000 in legal fees, plus the Court’s $1,170 (or $390)
If property or children are involved, treat the divorce as the smallest line in a larger budget, and get advice on the settlement before you assume the divorce is the main event.
This article is general information about the cost of divorce in Australia and is not legal advice. Court fees are current as at 1 July 2026 and are set by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Legal work referred to in this article is delivered by ezylegal Law, an incorporated Australian legal practice.