Financial disclosure in property settlement — the rules and what happens if you don’t comply

What financial disclosure means

In Australian property settlement, both parties have a legal obligation to provide full and honest disclosure of their financial situation to the other party. This is not optional and it is not selective. You must disclose everything that is relevant to the property pool — assets, debts, income, superannuation, and financial interests of any kind.

The obligation applies whether you are negotiating privately, in mediation, or in court proceedings. It applies from the moment a property dispute begins and continues until the matter is finalised.

What you must disclose

The disclosure obligation covers:

• Assets — all property, vehicles, bank accounts, investments, super, business interests, trusts, and any other asset of value
• Liabilities — mortgages, personal loans, credit card debts, HECS/HELP, car finance, and any other debt
• Income — salary, wages, investment income, business income, rental income, government payments
• Financial resources — interests in trusts, expected inheritances, long service leave, deferred remuneration, or anything of future financial value
• Changes since separation — any significant financial change after separation must be disclosed as it occurs

Disclosure is not a one-off event. If your financial situation changes during the settlement process — you receive an inheritance, your business value increases significantly, you take on new debt — you must update your disclosure.

What changed in June 2025

Previously, the duty of financial disclosure was contained in the Federal Circuit and Family Court Rules 2021 — court rules that applied once proceedings were filed. The Family Law Amendment Act 2024, which came into effect on 10 June 2025, elevated this duty directly into the Family Law Act itself.

The practical effects of this change are:

• The duty now explicitly applies to all property disputes — not just those in court, but also private negotiations and mediation
• The consequences of non-compliance are more clearly stated in the Act
• Legal practitioners and mediators are now required to inform clients of their disclosure obligations and the consequences of non-compliance
• The duty is now harder to ignore or minimise, because it sits in primary legislation

What happens if you do not comply

If you fail to disclose relevant financial information, courts have a range of responses available:

• Adverse inference: The court can assume that hidden assets exist and value them accordingly, often generously in favour of the other party
• Adjustment of the split: Non-disclosure can be taken into account when making the final property order — the court can adjust the percentage in favour of the party who complied
• Setting aside orders: If non-disclosure is discovered after orders are made, those orders can be set aside and the matter re-opened
• Cost orders: Courts can order the non-disclosing party to pay the other party’s legal costs
• Contempt of court: In serious cases, deliberate concealment of assets during court proceedings can result in contempt proceedings

What if the other party is not disclosing

If you suspect your former partner is hiding assets or understating income, you do not have to accept it. Options available include:

• Requesting specific documents through the formal disclosure process
• Subpoenaing third parties (banks, employers, the ATO) for financial records
• Engaging a forensic accountant if complex business interests or hidden assets are suspected
• Asking the court to draw an adverse inference in relation to undisclosed assets

The ATO has significant powers to disclose information in family law proceedings, including superannuation balances and tax return information. Courts increasingly use this channel where one party is evasive about their financial position.

Practical tips for disclosure

Start gathering your financial documents early. You will need recent bank statements, super fund statements, mortgage statements, tax returns, and pay slips. For any business interests, you will need financial statements and tax returns for at least the last three years. For trusts, you will need the trust deed and recent financial statements.

Organising this information before your first legal appointment saves significant time and money. Arriving at a lawyer’s office with a clear, structured picture of your finances is substantially more efficient than paying a lawyer to help you track down documents.

The Property Split Calculator is a useful tool for structuring your financial picture before the formal disclosure process begins.

Common questions