Superannuation information now more accessible in family law matters
In family law matters, understanding your superannuation entitlements and your former partner’s superannuation entitlements is important when negotiating a property settlement.
Up until now, if one party was not forthcoming with disclosure about their superannuation entitlements, then the other party would often be put to unnecessary costs and delays to obtain the information or in some circumstances be unable to obtain the information at all if they did not know the name of their former partner’s superfund.
From 1 April 2022 (“the Date”), this will change as parties to property proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) will be able to apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Law Court of Australia registry for access to their former partner’s superannuation information, provided by the Australia Taxation Office to the Court.
From the Date, obtaining a party’s superannuation from the Australian Taxation Office will be a two-step process:
1. First, the party requiring the information will need to submit a request to the court registry for the superannuation information.
2. Then, the court registry will make a request to the Commission of Taxation to disclose the relevant information of the party’s superannuation. This information will then be provided to the parties and their lawyers.
This change will not only remove unnecessary legal costs and delays, but it will also overcome attempts made by some parties to hide or misrepresent their superannuation balance.
If you have any questions or require specific advice about this issue, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the TLFC family law team on (03) 8600 9333 and we will be happy to assist you.
