Marital Separation

You may be separated from your spouse or partner, even if you still live together, if one of you has told the other that the relationship is over. You may be separated from that time, regardless of whether the other person agrees.

If you apply for parenting payments, family tax benefit, child support, a superannuation order, or tax relief on marriage breakdown, or want to implement a superannuation agreement, you may need to declare that you have separated to be eligible. Also, to make sure the date of your separation is clear, it may be useful to tell someone or identify when the change in your relationship occurred.

• Knowing when you have separated is sometimes complicated
• From a legal perspective, the date of separation is important to know for:
  • a divorce application;
  • calculating the time limit to apply for de facto relationship property settlement or spousal maintenance; and applying for government benefits.