Key takeaway: Yes — and often it's the best time. In Australia you must be separated for 12 months before you can apply for divorce, and the divorce itself doesn't resolve parenting or property at all. Mediation during separation lets you settle those issues early, so when you do file, the legal divorce is a simple administrative step. Resolving early protects the asset pool, stabilises arrangements for the children, and reduces conflict.
The divorce and the disputes are separate things
This trips a lot of people up. The legal divorce simply ends the marriage; it does not divide property, settle finances, or determine parenting arrangements. Those are separate matters you resolve by agreement or, failing that, in court. And here's the key point: you don't have to wait for the divorce — or even file for it — to start resolving them. Many couples sort out parenting and property well before the divorce paperwork is lodged.
Mediating during the 12-month separation
Australia requires you to be separated for at least 12 months before you can apply for divorce, as set out by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. That waiting period is not dead time — it's the ideal window to mediate. You can use those months to reach a clear, workable agreement on the children and the finances, so that by the time you're eligible to file, the hard parts are already settled. You can even apply for the divorce online later while the agreement sits ready to be formalised.
Separated and want to get ahead of it? Book a consultation and start resolving parenting and property now, not later.
Book a free consultation →Sorting parenting early
Children benefit enormously from early, stable arrangements. Mediating a parenting plan soon after separation means the kids settle into a predictable routine rather than living through months of uncertainty and conflict. Under the Family Law Act 1975, arrangements must be in the children's best interests — and stability is a big part of that. Early agreement also avoids positions hardening, which is what makes later disputes so bitter.
Sorting property early — and watching the time limit
There's a practical reason not to wait, too. Once a divorce is finalised, you generally have only 12 months to finalise property and financial matters. Couples who leave everything until after the divorce sometimes find themselves rushing against that clock. Resolving property settlement through mediation during separation takes the time pressure off entirely and protects the asset pool from being eroded by prolonged conflict.
Why earlier is almost always better
- Lower conflict — you negotiate before resentment calcifies into entrenched positions.
- Protected finances — less time for the asset pool to be run down by legal fees or poor decisions.
- Stability for children — predictable arrangements from early on.
- A smoother divorce — when you file, there's nothing left to fight about.
How to start before you file
You simply book a consultation — there's no need to have filed anything first. We'll help you map the issues, gather what's needed, and work through parenting and property at a pace that suits you. When the agreement is reached, we help formalise it through consent orders so it's binding and ready. Then the divorce, when its time comes, is the easy part. Start on our divorce mediation page.