Separation rarely hits both partners financially the same way.
One person might walk away with a strong income and a growing career. The other might have spent years out of the workforce raising children, only to face rent, bills and retirement with a fraction of the earning power they once had. That gap doesn’t close on its own, and pretending it will can leave one partner facing real hardship years down the track.
This is exactly what “future needs” exists to address. Below, our family lawyers explain how future needs are assessed under Australian law, what the court actually looks at, and how this connects to spousal maintenance.
What Are “Future Needs” in a Property Settlement?
Future needs is the term used for one of the final steps a court takes when dividing property after a marriage or de facto relationship ends.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s no automatic 50/50 split. Under the Family Law Act 1975, the court first works out whether dividing the property pool is just and equitable, identifies what’s actually in that pool, and assesses each party’s financial and non-financial contributions.
Only after that does it turn to future needs, essentially asking whether one party is likely to be significantly worse off financially going forward, and whether an adjustment is needed to make the overall outcome fair.
Since 10 June 2025, this process isn’t just judicial convention anymore. The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 codified the traditional four-step approach directly into sections 79 and 90SM, so contributions and future needs now sit side by side in the same section of the Act rather than being pieced together from case law. If your matter involves more complex assets, our guide to complex property division walks through how these steps apply in practice.
Future needs and spousal maintenance are closely linked. The same legal test, set out in section 75(2) of the Family Law Act for married couples, or section 90SF(2) for de facto couples, applies whether the adjustment happens as part of a broader property settlement or as a separate spousal maintenance order.
What Factors Does the Court Consider Under Section 75(2)?
The court has broad discretion here, but under section 75(2) of the Family Law Act it generally works through the following factors.
Age and health. A party nearing retirement, or managing a health condition that limits their ability to work, is likely to need greater support than someone in good health with decades of earning years ahead.
Income, property and financial resources. The court looks at each party’s current and future earning capacity, including qualifications, work experience, and any career disruption caused by caregiving or homemaking during the relationship.
Care of children or other dependents. Whoever holds primary care of children under 18 is often at a financial disadvantage, since caregiving limits their capacity to work full time or advance their career.
Financial commitments. Ongoing obligations like rent, mortgage repayments, education costs and medical expenses all factor into what each party genuinely needs to get by.
Superannuation and pension entitlements. Time out of the workforce doesn’t just cost a salary, it costs years of superannuation contributions, which can leave one party facing retirement with a fraction of the other’s balance.
Standard of living. The court tries to avoid one party experiencing a drastic decline in living standards, while accepting that running two households after separation is inherently more expensive than running one.
Length of the relationship and contributions made. A long relationship where one partner sacrificed career progression to support the household carries more weight than a short relationship with minimal financial interdependence.
New relationships or changed circumstances. If either party has since repartnered, or experienced a major change like a job loss or promotion, this can affect what future support is genuinely needed.
The economic effect of family violence. This is a newer addition. Since the 10 June 2025 reforms, the court must now expressly consider the economic impact of any family violence one party subjected the other to, on top of how it may have already affected their financial and non-financial contributions during the relationship. This closed a gap where the financial fallout of violence, beyond the contributions themselves, wasn’t always being properly weighed.
A Common Example of Future Needs in Practice
The clearest example is what’s often called the “traditional” arrangement, where one partner is the primary income earner and the other is the primary carer for the children.
By the time of separation, the income-earning partner has typically had years to build their career, their salary, and their superannuation. The primary carer, meanwhile, may be re-entering the workforce with a resume gap and little recent experience. Without an adjustment, the property settlement alone wouldn’t reflect that ongoing disparity, particularly once you factor in just how far behind their superannuation balance may be by comparison.
There’s no fixed formula for how large this adjustment should be. It depends heavily on the income gap between the parties and the post-separation care arrangements for any children, and the court’s discretion here is broad rather than mechanical. A significant income disparity combined with one parent having the children most of the time will typically justify a larger adjustment than a small income gap with genuinely shared care.
How Does This Relate to Spousal Maintenance?
Spousal maintenance is financial support one former partner pays to the other because they can’t adequately support themselves and the other party has the capacity to help. Future needs and spousal maintenance essentially draw on the same considerations, they’re just applied in slightly different contexts.
A future needs adjustment usually happens as a one-off weighting within a broader property settlement. Spousal maintenance, by contrast, can be an ongoing periodic payment, a lump sum, or an urgent short-term measure while a final settlement is worked out. Both married and de facto partners can seek spousal maintenance, and the same threshold test applies either way, an inability to meet reasonable living expenses, weighed against the other party’s ability to pay.
Are There Time Limits?
Yes, and they matter. Married couples generally have 12 months from the date their divorce order takes effect to apply for spousal maintenance. De facto couples have two years from the date of separation, as confirmed by Legal Aid Queensland.
Applications made outside these windows aren’t automatically barred, but the court needs to grant leave to proceed out of time, which isn’t guaranteed and depends heavily on the circumstances. If a significant amount of time has passed since separation, our article on property settlements after long separation covers what the court looks for when deciding whether to grant that leave.
Does Spousal Maintenance Continue Indefinitely?
Not usually. Spousal maintenance is generally intended to help a former partner get back on their feet, whether through further study, returning to work, or reaching a final property settlement, rather than to provide permanent income.
An order can specify a fixed period, or remain open until it’s varied or ended. Maintenance generally stops if the receiving party remarries, though a new de facto relationship doesn’t automatically end it, it’s simply a factor the court can weigh if the paying party applies to vary or end the arrangement.
Speak With a Family Lawyer About Your Situation
Future needs and spousal maintenance both involve broad judicial discretion, which means how your case is presented matters enormously to the outcome.
Our property settlement and spousal maintenance teams can help you understand what you may be entitled to, or what you may need to pay, based on your specific circumstances. Read more on what spousal maintenance actually covers if you’re new to the topic, or contact us today to arrange a consultation.
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your circumstances, speak with a family lawyer or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
Frequently Asked Questions
On what grounds is a wife not entitled for maintenance?
Maintenance isn’t specific to wives, the same test applies to husbands and de facto partners of any gender. A party generally won’t be entitled to maintenance if they can already adequately support themselves, if the other party doesn’t have the financial capacity to pay, if the relevant time limit has passed without leave to apply out of time being granted, or if they’ve since remarried. The court also weighs conduct like unreasonably refusing suitable work when someone is capable of it.
How much money do you need to show for maintenance?
There’s no fixed dollar figure or income threshold. What matters is the gap between your reasonable living expenses and what you can currently earn or access, set against your former partner’s income and financial resources. Courts expect a sworn financial statement covering your income, expenses, assets and debts, and stronger applications are backed by clear, well-documented evidence of genuine need rather than a target figure.
Who suffers most financially in divorce?
Research consistently shows primary carers, most often women, tend to experience the steepest financial setback after separation, largely due to reduced working hours, career interruptions, and superannuation gaps built up over the relationship. Older parties and those who were financially dependent on their partner also tend to face greater hardship. This is precisely why the future needs and spousal maintenance provisions exist, to reduce that gap rather than leave it unaddressed.
What are the rules of maintenance?
Broadly, a party must show they can’t adequately meet their reasonable needs and that the other party has the capacity to help. The court then weighs the section 75(2) factors, age, health, income, care of children, financial resources, the economic effect of family violence, and more, to decide whether maintenance is appropriate, and if so, how much and in what form. Time limits apply (12 months post-divorce for married couples, two years post-separation for de facto couples), and maintenance can be ordered as periodic payments, a lump sum, or urgent short-term relief.
