Western Australia has its own family law legislation for de facto couples. If you're in a de facto relationship in WA, you need an agreement drafted under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA), not the Commonwealth Family Law Act. Our WA-specific templates are designed for this.
Section 205ZN agreement for WA de facto couples - before moving in together.
View template →Section 205ZO agreement for WA de facto couples - during the relationship.
View template →Section 205ZP agreement for WA de facto couples - after separation.
View template →Western Australia is the only Australian state or territory that has not referred its de facto property powers to the Commonwealth. This means that de facto couples in WA are governed by an entirely separate piece of legislation - the Family Court Act 1997 (WA) - rather than the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) that applies in every other state and territory.
The practical consequence is significant: WA de facto couples use sections 205ZN, 205ZO, and 205ZP of the Family Court Act 1997 instead of sections 90UB, 90UC, and 90UD of the Commonwealth Act. While the structure and intent of these provisions are similar, they are separate laws administered by a separate court.
It is important to note that married couples in WA are still covered by the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 - the WA-specific regime applies only to de facto relationships. The Family Court of Western Australia (a state court) has jurisdiction over WA de facto matters, whereas the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia handles married couples and de facto couples in all other states and territories.
The Family Court Act 1997 (WA) provides three types of binding financial agreement for de facto couples, each corresponding to a different stage of the relationship:
Each of these sections carries the same core requirements as the Commonwealth equivalents: both parties must receive independent legal advice (ILA) from separate lawyers, each lawyer must sign a certificate confirming the advice was given, and the agreement must be properly signed by both parties. Our WA templates are drafted specifically to comply with these sections and include the required certificate clauses.
For a financial agreement under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA) to be legally binding, the following requirements must be met:
Our templates include all the required clauses, schedules for financial disclosure, and the lawyer certificate format. You will need to engage your own lawyers for the independent legal advice - see our lawyer panel for affordable options familiar with WA family law.
If you are married in Western Australia, the WA-specific rules do not apply to you. Married couples in WA are covered by the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975, the same legislation that applies to married couples in every other state and territory.
This means the standard national financial agreement sections apply:
If you are married or planning to marry, you should use our national marriage and divorce agreement templates instead:
Apart from de facto financial agreements, all our other templates work for Western Australian residents without any modification. This includes:
Only the de facto financial agreements have WA-specific versions because only de facto property law differs between WA and the rest of Australia. For a complete overview of all financial agreement templates, visit our Financial Agreements page.
If you are in a de facto relationship and live in Western Australia, you need the WA version of the financial agreement - drafted under sections 205ZN, 205ZO, or 205ZP of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA). If you are married, you should use the national version (sections 90B, 90C, or 90D of the Family Law Act 1975), regardless of which state you live in.
Yes, and in fact it is recommended. Your lawyer should be familiar with Western Australian family law and the specific provisions of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA). Both parties need separate lawyers - you cannot share the same legal practitioner for independent legal advice.
If you made a WA financial agreement while living in Western Australia and later move to another state, the agreement remains valid. However, if you separate after moving interstate, jurisdictional questions may arise about which court has authority and which legislation applies. In that situation, you should seek legal advice from a family lawyer familiar with both WA and Commonwealth family law.
Yes. The Family Court of Western Australia is a state court established under WA legislation, with jurisdiction over de facto property and financial matters for WA couples. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is a Commonwealth court that handles married couples nationally and de facto couples in all states and territories except Western Australia. If you are in a de facto relationship in WA, your matter would be heard in the Family Court of Western Australia.