De Facto separations in South Australia
Neither the Family Court nor the Federal Magistrates Court have the jurisdiction to deal with the division of property between unmarried separating couples.

After a de facto relationship ends, if no agreement can be reached as to the division of assets, either of the de facto partners may apply to a state court (ie Supreme, District or Magistrates Courts) for the division of property.

There are a number of factors that will determine whether or not your circumstances will enable you to bring such an application and these include:
• Whether or not either you or your former de facto partner are resident in South Australia when the application is made; and
• Whether or not either you or your former de facto partner were resident in South Australia for the whole or a substantial part of the period of the relationship; and
• Whether or not the de facto relationship existed for at least three years or there is a child of the de facto partners.

It is important to note that an application for the division of
property must be made within one year after the end of the de facto relationship unless the court, after considering the interests of both de facto partners, is satisfied that extension of this period of limitation is necessary to avoid serious injustice.

It is also important to note that the De Facto Relationships Act also provides for binding Agreements to be made between separating de facto partners in certain circumstances.