Hi there. A marriage annulment refers to a situation where a marriage is declared invalid or void because it is not lawful. There are specific grounds on which a marriage may be deemed invalid. These include: where a person remarries before divorcing their first spouse; where a person gets married under the age of 18 years without court approval; where the relationship prohibits marriage (e.g. between siblings); or the marriage ceremony is not valid (e.g. carried out by an unauthorised celebrant). A marriage may also be invalid if either person did not give their real consent to the marriage – for example, they were mentally incapable of giving consent, they were mistaken as to the identity of the other person or the nature of the ceremony, or there was duress or fraud. If one of these grounds exists, a marriage is invalid and can be annulled. From the information you provided, your marriage does not appear to fall into one of the above categories. This means an annulment may not be available to you.

If you want to end your marriage, you have the option of divorcing your husband. To be eligible for a divorce, you must first have been separated from your spouse for at least 12 months. It is possible for a couple to be legally ‘separated’ whilst still living at the same property (e.g. one person lives in a separate part of the house, personal finances are kept separate, etc).

To apply for a divorce, you can file an application with the Federal Circuit Court or Family Court (www.familycourt.gov.au). Australia has a system of no-fault divorce, which means that the parties must simply show that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. In other words, you must prove to the court that there is no reasonable chance of your relationship resuming. You will need to serve a copy of your application on your husband so he can participate in the divorce proceedings.

If you are considering divorce, you may also need to think about how any shared property in the marriage will be divided. You can negotiate a property settlement with your husband without the help of the court, but if you want the arrangement to be legally binding or if you cannot agree on how to divide your shared assets, then you can apply to the court for assistance.

Suggested way forward

Although you can apply for a divorce on your own, you may want to first speak to a family lawyer to get advice on the consequences of the divorce on your property and assets. By pressing the “Consult a Lawyer” button, LawAdvisor can help you search for experienced lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of services.