Section 77AFamily Law Act 1975 (Cth)

Specification in orders of payments etc. for spouse maintenance purposes

(1) Where:

(a) a court makes an order under this Act (whether or not the order is made in proceedings in relation to the maintenance of a party to a marriage, is made by consent or varies an earlier order), and the order has the effect of requiring:

(i) payment of a lump sum, whether in one amount or by instalments; or

(ii) the transfer or settlement of property; and

(b) the purpose, or one of the purposes, of the payment, transfer or settlement is to make provision for the maintenance of a party to a marriage;

the court shall:

(c) express the order to be an order to which this section applies; and

(d) specify the portion of the payment, or the value of the portion of the property, attributable to the provision of maintenance for the party.

(2) Where:

(a) a court makes an order of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(a); and

(b) the order:

(i) is not expressed to be an order to which this section applies; or

(ii) is expressed to be an order to which this section applies, but does not comply with paragraph (1)(d);

any payment, transfer or settlement of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(a), that the order has the effect of requiring, shall be taken not to make provision for the maintenance of a party to the relevant marriage.

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 May 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Verify the current text against the official source before relying on it.

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