Get disclosure-ready.

Both parties to an Australian property settlement owe a duty of full and frank financial disclosure under the family law rules. That means giving the other side complete, up-to-date information about your income, property, superannuation, debts and any interests in businesses or trusts. The duty applies before any court application is filed and continues until the matter is finalised, so documents need to stay current as things change.

Disclosure matters because every settlement starts from the property pool. Under section 79 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) for married couples, and section 90SM for de facto couples, everything either of you owns is identified and valued before contributions and future needs are weighed up. Superannuation counts as property and can be divided by a splitting order or a superannuation agreement, which is why a current member statement for every fund is on the list.

Hiding assets backfires. If a settlement is reached on incomplete information, orders can be set aside later, the court can draw adverse inferences about what the missing documents would have shown, and costs can be awarded against the party who failed to disclose. Complete disclosure is not just a rule, it is what protects the finality of your settlement.

Practically, organising documents early is the single biggest accelerator of a settlement. Most delays come from waiting on statements, valuations and tax records. Twelve months of bank statements and three years of tax documents are the usual starting point, and almost all of it can be downloaded from internet banking, myGov and your super fund's portal in an afternoon.