The cost of separating
Understanding the costs associated with separation
A big part of what separation costs is yours to control. Not the rate, but how ready you are. People who are not prepared get swept along, and that is when overspend happens. Here is where the money goes, and how PartWise keeps you at the lower end.
What you'll be quoted
A broad picture of costs
These are ranges, not exact figures. Most of it runs on a time clock, so what you pay turns on how long your matter takes. It is why two similar separations can cost wildly different amounts.
These are ranges, not exact figures. A few costs are fixed, like court fees, but most runs on a time clock, so what you pay turns on how long your matter takes. It is why two similar separations can cost wildly different amounts.
Family lawyer
$300 to $750+ /hr
Barrister
$3k to $14k /day
Mediator
$220 to $440 /hr
Court fees
~$1,100 divorce
Sources: FCFCOA, JJ Lawyers, Unified Lawyers, Lawpath, Law Firms Australia. Court fees change each July.
Read more: what a separation actually costs →These costs stack up. A court pathway usually carries the mediation and the lawyer negotiation that came before it, so to understand what it is really costing you, add the mediation that did not settle and the negotiations to the cost of court. You rarely get to skip a step.
PartWise helps you stay at the lower end of this scale.
See below to find out howWhy costs spiral in separation
The way costs really accrue during separation
Some costs move things forward, and that money needs to be spent. But without preparation and a clear plan, the process balloons and the costs escalate quickly.
Money that moved things forward: an adviser reading your asset list and telling you where you stand. A mediation where both of you arrive with the figures. Consent orders drafted once.
Money that changed nothing: that same adviser chasing your bank statements. A mediation adjourned because the disclosure was not ready. Explaining your situation from the beginning to a second firm.
Read more: why one good meeting beats ten phone calls →The same outcome, two costs
Same separation, same result. The difference is how it was run.
Some of this was always going to be spent. PartWise works on the part that was not.
Bigger dot, bigger spend. Hover or tap any dot to see what it was.Tap any dot to see what it was.
Genuinely far apart, but run well. Every step earned its place.
Illustrative figures based on representative Australian costs, including amica and current court fees. Not a quote.
From the public record
In one matter, two ordinary people ran up about $860,000 between them before it settled, on the seventh day of the hearing. The judge called these “outrageous levels of costs for ordinary people”.Simic & Norton [2017] FamCA 1007
Some of what drives the cost is out of your hands. How prepared you are is not, and that materially changes the bill you end up with.
Inside PartWise
Keep costs down
We help you keep your costs down, not choose your pathway. Court, lawyers or mediation is for you and your experts to decide. What is true of all of them is that you control whether you land at the higher or lower end. So set a budget, log fees against it, and see your runway before it runs out.
We help you keep your costs down. We do not tell you which pathway to take. Whether it is court, lawyers or mediation, that is for you and your experts to decide. What is true of all of them is that you control whether you land at the higher or lower end. So set a budget, log fees against it, and see your runway before it runs out, so you can focus on the outcome you believe is right.
A representative preview of the in-app Costs pillar.
Legal fees budget
as at 20 June 2026Budget
$12,000
Spent to date
$3,240
Remaining
$8,760
The price, in proportion
Time spent preparing pays for itself
$79 / month
Your first lawyer meeting runs $400 to $750 an hour plus GST, and most of it is admin you can walk in having already done. PartWise does that admin, so the expensive hours go to decisions. At $79 a month including GST, it is the smallest cost in your whole separation.
Your first lawyer meeting runs $400 to $750 an hour plus GST, and most of it is admin you can walk in having already done. PartWise does the admin, so the expensive hours go to decisions. At $79 a month including GST and no lock-in, it is the smallest and most effective cost in your whole separation.
Start your 14-day trial14 days free, then $79 a month including GST. No lock-in, cancel any time.
Nothing appears on a statement for the first fourteen days. After that, payments are labelled PARTWISE, and the card does not have to be your own.
Go deeper
Why the bill climbs, in four short reads
For the people who want the why. Each one is a single idea, and they all point back here.
Take control of your separation
Walk into every conversation organised, and keep your costs where you can live with them.
Start your 14-day trial14 days free. No lock-in, cancel any time.