12 Months On: How the 2025 Property Settlement Reforms Are Playing Out in Real Cases

Key Takeaways

• The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 took effect on 10 June 2025, changing how courts decide property settlement matters under section 79 (marriages) and section 90SM (de facto relationships).

• Courts can no longer add back notional sums for wasted or dissipated assets that no longer exist - following the Full Court's decision in Shinohara & Shinohara [2025] FedCFamC1A 126.

• Wastage and family violence are now express considerations when courts assess the parties' current and future circumstances.

• Family violence is also an express consideration at the contributions stage, alongside the pre-amendment Kennon & Kennon line of authority.

• One year on, first-instance decisions show courts still relying heavily on pre-amendment case law such as Stanford v Stanford, Hickey and Kennon.

• The evidentiary bar remains high - courts continue to require clear evidence of family violence and its effect on contributions, not general assertions.