the last step

questions and answers

Updated 12 August 2026

Everything people ask about consent orders in Australia: what they are, why an agreement on its own is not enough, how superannuation is split, what the Court expects, and how this tool works. Written plainly, and kept accurate. Nothing here is legal advice.

On this page

The basics

Consent orders are orders made by a court that record an agreement two people have already reached, without either of them going to a hearing. In Australian family law they are most often used by separating couples to divide property, superannuation and debts.

You apply by filing an Application for Consent Orders together with a Minute of Consent Orders, which sets out the orders you are both asking for. A Registrar reads the application on the papers and, if satisfied the orders are just and equitable, makes them. Neither of you attends court.

Is a separation agreement legally binding in Australia?

No. An informal agreement between separating partners is not legally binding, no matter how carefully it is written or how sincerely it was reached.

A written summary, a heads of agreement, a signed letter, a mediated agreement, an exchange of emails: none of these can be enforced as a property settlement, and none of them prevents a former partner making a claim later. Only orders made by a court, or a binding financial agreement prepared with lawyers on both sides, achieve that.

Because until a court seals orders, your agreement binds neither of you and your property claim against each other stays open. Three things in particular depend on formal orders.

A former partner can bring a property claim years after you believed the matter was settled, and an informal agreement will not stop them. Superannuation cannot be split without a court order, because a fund trustee acts on an order and not on a promise. And the stamp duty concession that usually applies when a home is transferred between separating partners generally depends on a court order, so an informal transfer can produce a large stamp duty bill.

Consent orders are made by a court; a binding financial agreement is a private contract between the two of you that requires each party to receive independent legal advice and a signed certificate from their lawyer.

Consent orders are usually cheaper and, once made, harder to challenge, because a court has already considered whether they are just and equitable. Binding financial agreements can cover things consent orders cannot, and can be made before or during a relationship. If you already have a binding financial agreement in place, self-service consent orders are not the right path and you should see a lawyer.

No. You can apply for property consent orders at any time after separation, and you do not need to be divorced or even to have applied for a divorce.

Divorce and property settlement are separate processes in Australia. Many couples finalise their property arrangements first. If you are divorced, a time limit applies (see the question on time limits below).

Yes. De facto couples, including same-sex couples, can apply for property consent orders under the same Act, provided the court has jurisdiction over their relationship.

The court generally needs the relationship to have lasted at least two years, or for there to be a child of the relationship, or for one party to have made substantial contributions such that a failure to make an order would be a serious injustice, or for the relationship to have been registered. Western Australia has its own separate regime for de facto property matters.

Consent orders can cover parenting arrangements, but property consent orders and parenting orders are different things and are often dealt with separately.

The Last Step prepares property and financial consent orders only. It does not prepare parenting orders, which is a deliberate decision: that pathway requires risk certifications about children that we do not believe belong in unsupervised self-service software. The Court's own form still asks for details of any child of either party who is under 18, even where the orders deal only with money.

Time limits and eligibility

Yes. If you were married, you have 12 months from the date your divorce becomes final. If you were in a de facto relationship, you have two years from the date the relationship broke down.

After that you need the court's permission to apply out of time, which is not automatic and usually needs a lawyer. If you have separated but not divorced, the 12-month clock has not started, so there is no immediate deadline for married couples who have not divorced.

What if we are outside the time limit?

You must ask the court for leave to apply out of time, and you should get legal advice before doing so. The court grants leave only where refusing it would cause hardship.

A self-service tool cannot make that application for you. The Last Step will tell you if your answers indicate you are outside the limit.

How long do we have to be separated before applying?

There is no minimum separation period before applying for property consent orders. You can apply as soon as you have reached agreement.

This differs from divorce, which requires you to have been separated for at least 12 months before you can apply.

Can we be separated but living under the same roof?

Yes. Separation does not require you to live in different homes, and many couples separate under one roof for financial or practical reasons.

For a divorce application, separation under one roof requires additional evidence. For property consent orders, what matters is the date you separated, which you state in the application.

Yes. Consent orders require both people to agree to every order sought and to sign the application. There is no way to obtain consent orders over the objection of the other party.

If you cannot agree, the paths open to you are mediation, negotiation through lawyers, or an application to the court for orders in a contested matter.

The process

You file an Application for Consent Orders and a Minute of Consent Orders through the Commonwealth Courts Portal at comcourts.gov.au, together with the filing fee.

Both documents must be signed by both parties. The Application sets out your circumstances, assets, debts and superannuation; the Minute sets out the orders you want made. A Registrar considers the application on the papers, and if satisfied, makes the orders and issues sealed copies back through the portal.

No. There is no court appearance for consent orders. A Registrar decides the application on the papers.

This is the main practical difference between consent orders and contested proceedings, and it is why the process can be completed entirely from home.

Timeframes vary with the Court's workload, and are commonly a number of weeks from filing. The Court publishes current information, and the Registrar may take longer if a requisition is issued.

The time you spend preparing the application is usually shorter than the time you spend waiting for it to be considered, so filing a complete and consistent application first time is the fastest route.

What is a requisition?

A requisition is a letter from a Registrar asking a question about your application or asking you to correct something before the orders can be made. It is a routine part of the process and it is not a refusal.

Common causes are figures that do not reconcile between different parts of the Application, orders that are unclear about who does what by when, a missing superannuation procedural step, or a division the Registrar wants explained. You answer it and the application continues.

What happens if the Registrar refuses to make our orders?

A Registrar can decline to make orders that are not just and equitable, and will usually issue a requisition first asking you to explain or amend them.

Refusal outright is uncommon where the orders are clear and the division is explicable. If it happens, you can amend and refile, or get legal advice about the underlying agreement.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court sets the filing fee and it changes on 1 July each year, so check the current amount on the Court's fees page before you file.

A reduced fee is available for concession card holders and in cases of financial hardship, and it is worth asking about before you file. The filing fee is paid to the Court and is separate from anything you pay for document preparation.

Yes. There is no requirement to have a lawyer, and the Court publishes its forms for people to complete themselves.

The practical difficulty is not permission but accuracy: the forms are long, the figures must reconcile between sections, and errors surface weeks later as a requisition. That is the gap tools like this one exist to fill.

How long are our documents valid before filing?

The application must be filed within 90 days of the date the first Statement of Truth is signed. If it goes stale, sign a fresh set rather than filing late.

This is why it is worth signing and filing promptly once both of you are ready, rather than leaving signed documents in a drawer.

Property and the pool

How is property divided in a family law settlement?

Australian courts do not start from a 50/50 presumption. They identify the asset pool, assess each party's financial and non-financial contributions, consider future needs, and then check that the overall result is just and equitable.

Because the process is discretionary, there is no formula that produces a correct number. Couples reaching agreement themselves are free to agree on any division they both accept, and the Registrar considers whether that agreed division is within a range a court could properly make.

Does the tool tell us what a fair split is?

No. The Last Step will not suggest a percentage, will not tell you whether your division is fair, and contains no algorithm that scores your relationship or recommends an outcome.

The moment software starts choosing terms for individuals it stops being a document kit and starts being something else. You arrive with an agreement; the tool records it and turns it into the Court's forms.

What has to be included in the asset pool?

Everything either of you owns or owes, whether held jointly or alone, and regardless of who is keeping it. That includes the family home, other real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, shares, business interests, superannuation and all debts.

Both parties owe a duty of full and frank disclosure. Leaving something out is a common reason orders are later challenged, and it is the one shortcut that most reliably comes back.

Do we need formal valuations?

Not necessarily. Where you agree on a value, you can state the agreed value. Formal valuations become important where you disagree, or where an asset is difficult to value such as a business.

The Court is not usually verifying your figures; it is checking that the division you have agreed, based on the figures you have both sworn to, is just and equitable.

Orders can make one of you responsible for a debt as between the two of you, with an indemnity to the other. What they cannot do is change your arrangement with the lender.

A bank is not a party to your orders and is not bound by them. If a loan is in joint names, both of you remain liable to the lender until the lender agrees to release one of you. Well-drafted orders deal with this by obliging the party taking the debt to seek that release, and by providing what happens if it is not obtained.

What happens to the mortgage if one of us keeps the house?

The party keeping the house usually has to refinance the mortgage into their own name, because a court order does not remove the other party's liability to the bank.

Orders commonly require refinance and transfer to happen at the same time, within a stated period, and provide for the property to be sold if refinance cannot be obtained. Whether a lender will refinance depends on that party's borrowing capacity, which is worth checking before you agree to it.

What about HECS-HELP debt?

There is no fixed rule. Courts have treated HECS-HELP debts both ways: sometimes counted in the pool being divided, sometimes left with the person who incurred them.

Decisions have turned on things like when the study happened, whether the household lived on the income it produced, and whether the debt is repayable yet. Either way the balance must be disclosed to the Court.

Do we pay stamp duty on transferring the house?

Transfers between separating partners made under a court order generally attract a stamp duty concession or exemption, but the rules and the wording required differ between States and Territories.

This is one of the main financial reasons to formalise an agreement rather than transfer informally. Check your State or Territory revenue office's requirements, because they can be specific about the form the order must take.

Is there capital gains tax when we transfer property?

Rollover relief is generally available for transfers of assets between separating partners made under a court order, which defers the capital gains tax rather than triggering it on transfer.

The person who receives the asset generally takes on the original cost base, so the tax consequences can arrive later when they sell. This is worth an accountant's view where the asset is an investment property, shares or a business.

What if one of us has already spent or hidden money?

Raise it before you agree, not after. Courts can add back amounts that have been deliberately dissipated, but a consent order records an agreement rather than resolving a dispute about it.

If you suspect non-disclosure, self-service consent orders are not the right tool and you should get legal advice first.

Superannuation

Can superannuation be split in a divorce settlement?

Yes. Superannuation can be split between separating partners by court order under Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act 1975, and this applies to both married and de facto couples, except for de facto couples in Western Australia, whose position is governed separately.

A split does not release cash. The transferred amount stays in the superannuation system and remains subject to the usual preservation rules until the receiving party meets a condition of release.

Do we have to split superannuation?

No. Splitting superannuation is one option, not a requirement. Many couples agree to leave each party's superannuation alone and adjust the balance elsewhere.

What you cannot do is ignore it: superannuation must be disclosed and forms part of the property being considered, even where you agree not to split it.

What is a base amount split?

A base amount split is an order transferring a stated dollar amount from one party's superannuation interest to the other. It is the most common form of superannuation splitting order in accumulation funds.

The alternative is a percentage split, which transfers a stated proportion. Which is appropriate depends on the fund and the type of interest.

Do we have to tell the super fund before the orders are made?

Yes. The trustee of the fund must be given notice of the proposed orders and a reasonable opportunity to object before the court makes a splitting order. This is known as procedural fairness to the trustee.

In practice this means sending the trustee a copy of the proposed orders, commonly allowing 28 days for a response, and filing the application after that period. Skipping this step is one of the most common causes of a requisition in superannuation matters.

Can a self managed super fund be split?

It can, but it is complex, and it is not suitable for self-service software. Self managed funds raise trustee obligations, asset transfer questions and often require the fund itself to be restructured or wound up.

The Last Step stops and directs you to a lawyer where a self managed fund is being split, where both parties are members of the same self managed fund, or where a defined benefit interest is involved.

What is a defined benefit interest and why is it different?

A defined benefit interest pays a benefit calculated by a formula, usually based on salary and years of service, rather than an account balance. Its value is not simply a number on a statement.

Splitting one requires a valuation method set out in the family law superannuation regulations and often actuarial input. The Last Step will not split a defined benefit interest and stops the matter instead.

Can I access my share of the super as cash?

No. A superannuation split transfers an amount within the superannuation system. It does not give you cash, and the money remains preserved until you meet a condition of release such as reaching preservation age and retiring.

If you need cash now, that has to come from other property, not from a super split.

Doing this with the other party

How does the tool work with two people?

Each of you answers from your own device and your own email address, and the matter passes back and forth between you until you both agree on every item.

That separation is deliberate. Nobody should be filling in a financial disclosure form with the other person watching over their shoulder, and nobody should sign anything under that kind of pressure.

What if the other party disagrees with something?

They mark the item as disagreed and give a reason, and it comes back to you. Nothing is produced while a single item is in dispute.

Every hand-back is logged and the pack includes a complete exchange record. If the same point comes back twice, that usually means the disagreement is real rather than a misunderstanding, and an accredited mediator can often settle it in one session.

What if the other party changes something after I have signed?

Any change to the orders withdraws both statements of truth and the matter goes back to be signed again. Neither of you can quietly alter the deal after the other has signed.

This matters because the signed version and the filed version are meant to be identical. The tool enforces that rather than trusting it.

Can I do this if the other party is difficult?

Only if they will engage with the process and agree. Consent orders require the genuine agreement of both people, and this tool cannot be used to press someone into signing.

If there is family violence, or if you feel unsafe or pressured, get advice before agreeing to anything. 1800RESPECT is available on 1800 737 732, at any hour.

About The Last Step

What is The Last Step?

The Last Step is Australian document preparation software that turns an agreement two separating people have already reached into the Federal Circuit and Family Court's own consent order forms.

You answer plain questions, it checks your answers for completeness and consistency, and it fills the Court's published Application for Consent Orders and Minute of Consent Orders. It is not a law firm and it does not give legal advice.

How much does it cost?

$695 for the matter, covering both people, paid once. The Court's filing fee is separate and is paid directly to the Court.

The tool is free until your documents are built. You can answer every question, pass every check, and see the whole outcome — every item, who keeps what, and whether it reconciles to the division you agreed — before you are asked for anything. Nobody pays to find out their matter cannot be completed.

What you do not see before paying is the finished wording of the orders themselves, because that is the document you are buying. If it is wrong when you read it, changing it and rebuilding costs nothing, for twelve months.

Is it cheaper than a lawyer?

Yes, substantially. Solicitors commonly charge in the range of $3,000 to $5,000 to prepare consent orders in an uncontested matter, and more where there is any complexity.

The trade-off is that a lawyer advises you and this does not. If you want someone to tell you whether your agreement is a good one, you want a lawyer, and you can get that advice and still use this to prepare the documents.

No. Nothing the tool produces is legal advice, no lawyer-client relationship is created with anyone, and it never ticks the box in the Statement of Truth that says you have received legal advice. Only you can tick that, for yourself.

Independent legal advice is always your right and you can get it at any point, including after your documents are generated and before you sign.

What will the tool not do?

It refuses to proceed in situations it should not handle, rather than producing something wrong. A stopped matter costs nothing.

It stops where either party is bankrupt, where proceeds of crime proceedings are involved, where a binding financial agreement already exists, where a third party with an interest has not been given notice, where property is held by a company or trust, where superannuation involves a defined benefit or self managed fund, where a division falls outside a broad range, and where the pool consists only of debt. It does not prepare parenting orders, and it does not yet cover Western Australia.

Does a lawyer check my documents?

No. A panel of Australian family lawyers advises on how the product is governed, but no lawyer reviews any individual customer's documents, and we are careful never to suggest otherwise.

If you want a lawyer to look at your orders before you sign, you can take your documents to one. Many will review a prepared set of consent orders for far less than preparing them from scratch.

Can I change my documents after I have paid?

Yes, as many times as you need, for twelve months, at no extra charge. There is no limit and no counter running down.

Change things in the tool rather than typing over the Word file. The Application contains a table whose figures must agree exactly with the figures earlier in the form; the tool guarantees that agreement, and editing the document by hand breaks it silently.

Do I still have to fill in the Court's application myself?

No. The Last Step completes both documents: the Minute of Consent Orders and the Court's Application for Consent Orders, from the same set of answers.

This is worth checking with any tool you consider. Some produce only the orders themselves and leave the Application for you to complete, which is the longer of the two documents and contains the asset and liability table whose figures have to reconcile exactly with the orders. That table is a common source of requisitions when the two documents are prepared separately. Here they are generated together, so they agree by construction.

What is in the pack I download?

The completed Application for Consent Orders, the Minute of Consent Orders, a filing instruction sheet, a page to read before you sign, a sheet on what to do once your orders come back sealed, an exchange record, and a save file that restores your matter on any computer. Where superannuation is being split it also includes trustee letters and a superannuation steps sheet.

Everything is generated on your own device and downloaded from it.

Privacy and security

Do you see my financial information?

We do not store it. Your answers are held on your own device, and there are no accounts, no database of matters, and no copy of your documents in our systems.

There is one point where your matter does travel: when you send it to your former partner. It is encrypted on your device before it leaves, and what passes through our infrastructure is a locked box we hold no key to. So there is nothing here to leak and nothing here to lose. The only time anyone here might see a figure is if you type one into a support message, or show us your own screen on a support call, and we keep no copy either way. None of this changes what the two of you must disclose to each other and to the Court: full and frank disclosure is your obligation, and it is what these orders rest on.

How is the handover between the two of us protected?

The matter is encrypted on your device before it is sent, using AES-GCM 256. What passes through our infrastructure is a locked box without a key.

The key is deliberately split in two. One half travels in the emailed link; the other half is derived from three things only the recipient knows about themselves. A link sent to a mistyped address opens nothing. After five wrong attempts the stored copy is destroyed and the sender is notified.

What happens to my data afterwards?

The encrypted block used for the handover is deleted automatically after 30 days. Your answers and documents live only on your own devices, so what happens to them afterwards is up to you.

Card details go to Stripe, our payment processor, and never to us.

After the orders are made

Property consent orders are intended to be final and are difficult to change. A court can set them aside in limited circumstances, such as where there has been a miscarriage of justice through fraud or non-disclosure, or where circumstances have made the orders impracticable to carry out.

This is why it matters to disclose everything and to be sure before you sign, rather than treating orders as a starting point.

What if the other party does not do what the orders say?

Court orders are enforceable. If a party does not comply, you can apply to the court for enforcement, and a range of remedies are available depending on what has not been done.

This is precisely the protection an informal agreement does not give you.

No. Consent orders divide property between the two of you. They do not update your will, your superannuation death benefit nomination, your power of attorney, or the beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

Reviewing all of those after separation is worth doing, and it is one of the most commonly overlooked steps. A former partner who is still nominated on a superannuation death benefit may still receive it.

No. Consent orders divide property. Divorce ends the marriage, and it is a separate application requiring 12 months of separation.

Many people do one and not the other. If you intend to divorce as well, remember that the divorce starts a 12-month clock on applying for property orders.

Still stuck?

If you are using the tool and something has gone wrong, the support form is the fastest way to reach us. For anything else, use the contact form. We cannot tell you what you should agree to or what your orders ought to say — that is legal advice, and we do not give it. The Court’s find-a-lawyer directory and the national register of accredited mediators at amdras.au/mediators are the neutral places to start.

If any of this is close to home and you need support that has nothing to do with forms, 1800RESPECT is available on 1800 737 732, at any hour.