Cohabitation (living together) agreement

About this cohabitation agreement

Australia's family law allows the parties to marriages and de-facto relationships to enter into agreements about what might happen if their relationship ends in a separation.

These sorts of agreements are referred to in the law as Binding Financial Agreements.

It is the requirement of the Family Law Act 1975 that both parties must receive independent legal advice before signing the agreement. If both parties have failed to do so then the agreement will not be legally binding.

Under section 90UB/90UC of the Family Law Act 1975 Act de facto couples can now make a financial agreement that will protect their assets and financial resources.

This cohabitation agreement helps you to work out and set down all the practical arrangements that need to be covered when two people who are neither married nor civil partners, set up house. It helps you to set down all the arrangements that you need, both now and on a future separation.

It does not try to tell you what is best for you, but to steer and guide you into considering and dealing with the most important issues. It covers arrangements about your home, business assets, who owns what, everything about money - and even provisional children arrangements.

This document does not require any particular action after completion. Just print two copies, get certified by a solicitor that you have taken advice, both of you sign both copies, date both with same date and each keep one. Your completed document is valid and binding at law until you are married or a child is born.

You are bound by it. Use it at any stage of your relationship, before marriage.

However, if you marry or enter a civil partnership in the future, the status of the document changes. It becomes like a pre-nuptial agreement. The effect is that if you then separate, the court will take this document into account, but will not be bound by it.

Example uses of this document:

• You want to make secure arrangements for when you separate or have children;
• Flatmates setting up new arrangements;
• You want to live together but also stay in control of your own company or business assets.

Agreement contents

• How you deal with your house or flat
• Keeping your own business property
• Separate ownership of assets
• Banking and cash arrangements
• Living expenses
• Finance and borrowing
• Children arrangements - now and on termination
• What happens if / when you separate
• Division of capital assets
• What one of you might pay to the other for self and children
• If one of you dies
• Explanatory notes and guidance