‘Till debt do us part’; how the high cost of living in Australia makes unhappy couples as ‘Financial Flatmates’

When love fades, most couples think about moving on. But in Australia today, many are asking a different question: can we even afford to? A study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) shows the country’s divorce rate has dropped to its lowest point since the mid-1970s.

But it’s not happier marriages that are driving the trend; it might be the soaring cost of living. For many, staying together isn’t about love anymore. It’s about survival.

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Legal experts say splitting up has become financially unviable for many couples, with rising rents, tighter lending rules, and growing living expenses pushing people to remain “financial flatmates” under the same roof, even after their relationship has ended.

Too costly to separate?

Rising rents, strict lending conditions, and high living expenses are making it harder for couples to afford life after separation. Kylie Burke, a family law expert and partner at Burke Mangan Lawyers, said to 5au.com that many couples now stay in the same home even after separating.

“It’s not just about dividing assets anymore,” she explained. “People are worried about how they’ll support themselves and their children after the split.”

In some capital cities, rents have gone up by as much as 30 per cent. This makes it difficult for separated individuals to find or maintain independent living arrangements.

Divorce rate

In 2023, the divorce rate fell to just 2.3 per 1,000 residents aged 16 and over—its lowest point since the Family Law Act came into effect in 1975. This continues a long-term downward trend that began after a peak in divorces in the early 2000s.

That spike had partly resulted from administrative changes in 2021 that made it easier and faster to finalise divorces. Since then, the rate has resumed its slow decline.

The role of family patterns

Senior AIFS researcher Dr. Lixia Qu pointed out that fewer people are getting married today, and many couples are marrying later in life. More people are also living together before marriage, which may reduce the number of legal divorces, even when relationships end.

However, Dr. Qu warned that a lower divorce rate doesn’t necessarily mean happier or longer-lasting relationships. “It reflects changes in how people form and maintain partnerships,” she said.

Who’s getting divorced?

Young couples are still more likely to divorce, but their divorce rates are falling. Older couples, particularly those over 50, are divorcing more often than before. In 2023, the median age at divorce was 47.1 for men and 44.1 for women.

The median duration of marriage before divorce was 13 years, with final separation usually occurring around the 8- or 9-year mark.

Only 12 per cent of divorces in 2023 involved marriages that lasted fewer than five years. Nearly 30 per cent of divorces occurred after 20 or more years of marriage.

The proportion of long marriages ending in divorce has grown steadily since the 1980s.

The introduction of no-fault divorce in 1976 removed the need to prove wrongdoing, making it easier for couples to separate. While this led to a short-term rise in divorces, the long-term trend has been downward ever since.