Maintenance is financial support payable by:

• A husband or wife to the other;
• A de facto husband or de facto wife to the other; or
• A same sex partner to the other.

Maintenance is different to child support. For information about child support see our child support page.

Once a divorce becomes final, an application for maintenance must generally be made within twelve (12) months. For de facto and same sex couples, an application for maintenance must generally be made within two (2) years after the end of the relationship.