Divorce has far reaching financial consequences with an immediate impact on lifestyle and disposable income and a potentially significant long-term impact on wealth accumulation, according to the latest AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report, by Simon Kelly and Ann Harding.

Morag Donaldson examines the main legislative provisions of the system of fault-based divorce which existed under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1959 and the main legislative provisions of the current system of no-fault divorce under the Family Law Act 1975.

A decade or so ago, mothers (and their children) in Australia were found to be at an economic disadvantage after divorce compared with fathers. Since the late 1980s, however, significant social and economic change may have improved the financial living standards of divorced women relative to divorced men. This change includes the introduction of the...