Maintenance Rights and Responsibilities

In Australia we generally use the term maintenance to refer to the payments from one party to another after separation. In many countries these are known as alimony payments.

In Australia there are laws on alimony / maintenance. Section 77 of the Family Law Act provides that a party to a marriage may apply on an urgent basis for maintenance. To calculate alimony / maintenance section 72 of the Family Law Act provides that a party has a right to be maintained to the extent that the other party is reasonably able to do so.

A number of discretionary powers in section 75 (2) giving alimony guidelines are to be taken into consideration by the Court in making this adjudication.

WARNING

A party cannot legally “starve” the other party into submission by avoiding alimony / maintenance payments. There is a responsibility to provide resources to enable the status quo to be maintained until the final determination and property adjustment between the parties is decided.


You want to know your Sydney lawyer is professional, has proven results and saves you money. Your Streeterlaw legal team are selected for three key reasons… More >
To help you we need to know your story. The Streeterlaw team will give you an honest opinion so you’ll know your options … More >

While your own situation is unique these Australian stories will help you know what to expect.  Real stories with proven results …More >
Contact Streeterlaw for an obligation-free consultation