While Australians focussed on the timing of the next federal election, separating de facto couples in Western Australia became a step closer to being able to split their superannuation after the WA Government tabled amendments to the state’s Family Court legislation.
Once passed, the long awaited changes will bring WA in line with the rest of Australia by allowing de facto couples to split their superannuation to achieve a fair division of property.
WA’s Attorney-General, John Quigley, stressed that WA remained the only Australian jurisdiction where separating de facto couples could not split their superannuation.
“Married couples who divorce, and de facto couples who separate in the rest of Australia, must treat superannuation like any other financial asset during contested settlements,” he said.
“But outdated arrangements in WA mean a superannuation nest egg cannot be split among de facto partners calling it quits.”
The changes will be a significant outcome for the estimated 200,000 Western Australians in de facto relationships as it will allow them to treat their superannuation like other financial assets if their relationship breaks down. This is expected to provide fairer outcomes when it comes to property settlements for separating de facto couples.
“[The inability to split superannuation] can create severe injustices where there are not enough other assets to help make a fair division of property between the splitting de facto partners and women are overwhelmingly disadvantaged in these circumstances,” Quigley said.
Superannuation is often a couple’s biggest asset and, according to the WA Government, the inability in WA to include it in the division of property accumulated during a de facto relationship has disproportionately disadvantaged women, who retire on average with half the superannuation of men.
Superannuation splitting for separating WA de facto couples has been a source of ongoing tension between the federal and WA governments since 2006.
In line with a limited referral of constitutional power from WA, the federal government finally made the necessary changes to the Family Law Act 1975 in December 2020, but the amendments will not take effect until WA amends its own laws.
WA’s de facto splitting law changes are included in the Family Court Amendment Bill 2022, which was introduced to state’s Legislative Assembly on Wednesday 6 April 2022.