How spousal support is calculated

Spousal maintenance, often called spousal support, is financial support paid by one former partner to the other after separation. It is separate from child support, which is for the children, and separate from the property settlement, which divides what the couple owns. A person can be entitled to maintenance whether or not there are children.

In Western Australia, married couples' claims are decided by the Family Court of Western Australia under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). De facto couples' claims are decided by the same court under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA). The two Acts are close, but not identical.

There is no formula

Unlike child support, spousal maintenance has no formula. The court asks two questions, and both must be answered yes.

Can the applicant support themselves adequately?

Under s 72(1) of the federal Act, a person is liable to maintain their former spouse only if the former spouse cannot support themselves adequately because of:

(a) the care of a child of the marriage under 18;

(b) their age, or a physical or mental incapacity for appropriate paid work; or

(c) any other adequate reason.

The WA Act uses the same test for de facto partners (s 205ZC). The person claiming maintenance must prove it, usually with a detailed statement of their income and reasonable expenses.

Can the other person reasonably afford to pay?

The liability only goes as far as the other person is reasonably able to pay. The court looks at their income, property and earning capacity, less their own reasonable expenses and commitments.

What the court weighs

If both questions are answered yes, the court decides what order is proper by considering the factors in s 75(2) of the federal Act (WA s 205ZD). They include:

(a) each person's age and health;

(b) each person's income, property, financial resources and capacity for work;

(c) whether either person has the care of a child under 18;

(d) the commitments each person has to support themselves and anyone else they must support;

(e) a standard of living that is reasonable in all the circumstances;

(f) the length of the relationship and its effect on the applicant's earning capacity;

(g) any child support being paid or received;

(h) the terms of any property order made or proposed.

Since 10 June 2025, the federal list also includes the effect of any family violence by one party on the other (s 75(2)(aa)). Western Australia has not made that change, so for a WA de facto couple it is not a named factor.

The property settlement is usually decided first, because what each person receives affects both their needs and their capacity to pay.

What the court can order

The court can order maintenance as:

(a) a weekly, monthly or other periodic payment;

(b) a lump sum, paid at once or in instalments; or

(c) a transfer of property.

It can make an order for a fixed period, for example while the applicant retrains or until a child starts school, or without an end date. Where the applicant needs money urgently and there is no time to decide the claim fully, the court can make an urgent order for an amount it considers proper (s 77; WA s 205ZE).

When maintenance ends or changes

A maintenance order ends if either person dies. It also ends if the person receiving it marries, unless the court orders otherwise in special circumstances (s 82; WA s 205ZK).

Starting a new de facto relationship does not end a married person's maintenance automatically. It is a change of circumstances that can justify varying or ending the order (s 83). Either party can apply to vary an order where circumstances have changed (WA s 205ZL for de facto couples).

Time limits

There is no time limit while a married couple remain married. Once a divorce order takes effect, an application must be made within 12 months (s 44(3)). A WA de facto partner must apply within 2 years of the end of the relationship (s 205ZB). Late claims need the other party's consent or the court's leave.

Agreeing on maintenance

Couples can settle maintenance themselves, either in consent orders or in a binding financial agreement. A financial agreement can provide for maintenance, or rule it out, although the federal Act lets the court still order maintenance for a married party who, when the agreement took effect, could not support themselves without an income-tested pension, allowance or benefit (s 90F). A WA de facto couple's agreement must meet the strict formal requirements of s 205ZS of the WA Act. Unlike the federal Act, the WA Act has no power to save an agreement that misses one of those formalities, so getting the document right matters.

This article is general information, not legal advice.