An exemption from duty may apply where a transfer of  a property is between a married couple or de facto partners

Stamp duty exemption applies to married couples and to partners of a de facto relationship. The exemptions are available if the parties enter into consent orders,bidning financial agreement under the Family Law Act 1975 or by court orders.

The matters that the Family Court looks at in a property settlement are set out in section 79 and section 75(2) of the Family Law Act. There are three main things that the Family Court looks for when it is making a decision about a property settlement.

Assets and their Values

The Court must be able to find out what assets are owned by each of the parties. This includes details of the current market value of things like land, bank accounts and superannuation. It may be necessary for some assets to be valued by an expert. It does not matter when the asset came to be owned.

Different types of contributions

The Court needs to find out all of the contributions that have been made to the assets and to the marriage generally. The types of contributions that are important are set out in section 79(4) of the Family Law Act

• Contributions can be financial or non-financial. There are many different types. Here are some examples:
• Assets owned by each party at the time when they started to live together as husband and wife.
• Assets that are owned at the time when the parties stopped living as husband and wife.
• How these assets came to be owned and how they were cared for.
• Who earned the income that came into the marriage.
• Who cared for the residence in which the parties, and any of their children lived.
• Who cared for any children living with the parties.
• Who cooked, cleaned, washed and performed the many and varied household tasks for the parties and children.
• Gifts and inheritances.

It is important to understand that contributions as a homemaker and a parent are seen as very important contributions. In most cases where the marriage has been a long one, they are seen as equal to financial contributions.

Future financial position

The Court looks at what the future holds financially for each of the parties. These matters are set out in Section 75(2) of the Family Law Act.

Some examples are:

• The age and state of health of each party.
• How much income each party is able to earn.
• Whether each party is looking after a child of the parties and whether either party wishes to continue caring for the child full-time.
• Any child support that is being paid.
• The need for each party to have a reasonable standard of living.

The Court gives the party whose financial future is not as good as the other, some extra part of the property owned by the parties.