“Which excavator school is the best? Come to Lanxiang in Shandong, China.” Most people will recognise this well-worn advertising slogan. Recently, the founder couple of this nearly 38-year-old Lanxiang Technical School have kicked off a farcical divorce and property dispute, sparking heated discussion about marital property battles, family violence and related issues. Today, let’s take this opportunity to talk about Australian family law and the key points you need to be aware of.

Case Study: The Lanxiang Divorce Property Dispute

Shandong Lanxiang Technical Institute was founded in October 1984, originally set up jointly by principal Rong Lanxiang and his wife Kong Suying. Although the couple started with nothing, they stuck together through thick and thin, building the school from the ground up after borrowing money just to rent a classroom. They eventually made their fortune.

However, the accumulation of money and wealth can easily lead people astray, and their once-strong love was repeatedly put to the test. According to Kong Suying’s accusations, the couple’s feelings had long since faded, and Rong Lanxiang had been unfaithful during the marriage, had a bad temper, and frequently committed family violence against her — she even suffered physical injury while pregnant. Kong Suying applied to the court for divorce multiple times in 2010 and 2014. The two were officially divorced in 2016, but the property dispute remained unresolved, which is what triggered this recent farce.

The farce began on 27 April this year, when Rong Lanxiang’s daughter Rong Ting posted a video online publicly reporting her biological mother Kong Suying, accusing her of unlawfully disposing of the Tianlun Garden property and attempting to transfer assets overseas. Back in 2014, when the couple agreed to divorce, Rong Lanxiang had promised to gift the Tianlun Garden property (including 351 residential units and some shopfronts) to Kong Suying and their six children, but the title was never transferred. Rong Lanxiang later went back on his word, which triggered a battle over the property. Rong Lanxiang applied for a property preservation order, and the court sealed the property with a ban on sale during the seizure period. Despite this, Kong Suying sold 145 units of the property externally, claiming she was acting on behalf of her children. Kong Suying herself and her three daughters were subsequently sentenced over property contracts and unlawful disposal of property. Yesterday, Kong Suying publicly reported a number of unlawful acts by Rong Lanxiang, including false litigation that left 351 households homeless.

This sensational divorce case is not yet over, but it has already revealed a number of family-law issues lurking beneath the surface. So what do you need to watch out for under Australian family law? How exactly should property be divided on divorce? And how can you protect yourself if you experience family violence?

1. Australia Does Not Distinguish Between Pre- and Post-Marriage Property

Unlike in China, Australia does not distinguish between pre-marriage and post-marriage property. As a result, whether you are in a De Facto relationship or a Legal Marriage, all property owned by each partner becomes joint property. If you do not sign a property agreement, then one party will have the right to claim a proportional share of the other party’s property.

Note that you must commence property proceedings within 12 months of divorce. If more than 12 months have passed since the divorce, you need to first apply to the court for Leave, providing reasons to demonstrate hardship. Only with the court’s permission can the property division proceed.

2. If the Property Is Registered in One Party’s Name, Can the Other Party Still Receive a Share on Divorce?

Based on Australia’s definition of joint marital property above, when a couple divorces and divides property, whose name the property is registered in does not mean that only that person can own it. In the court’s judgment, even property held solely in one party’s name will be pooled into the couple’s joint property pool, awaiting the court’s final distribution.

3. If One Party Was Unfaithful During the Marriage, Will the Other Party Receive a Larger Share?

Note that Australia follows the no-fault divorce principle, which means infidelity does not affect property division. Property division in Australia is weighed and distributed based on factors such as each party’s financial contributions, non-financial contributions, the future needs of both parties, and the length of the marriage.

On contributions by both parties: Financial contributions refer to who spent more on money matters — for example, who contributed more to buying a home, paying off the mortgage or covering living expenses. Non-financial contributions typically refer to who put in more effort and time caring for the family and children.

On length of marriage: For marriages of less than 5 years, financial contributions carry greater weight in property division. In our experience, however, for marriages of ten years or more, the financial and non-financial contributions of both parties are generally treated as equal.

On property needs: For example, a party with a physical disability who requires care, a party who has lost the ability to work, or a party caring for children after divorce will be considered to have greater property needs, and may accordingly receive a larger share.

4. What to Watch Out for When Transferring Property After Divorce

Transferring property after divorce to one of the parties or to the children of both parties:

In this situation, the parties do not need to sign a sale contract, but they must sign a Binding Financial Agreement. Settlement can be completed in around 2–4 weeks. No stamp duty applies, but there may be some title registration fees.

5. The Importance of a Property Agreement

In Australia, to avoid unnecessary property disputes after divorce or separation, it is essential to sign a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA). A property agreement covers matters such as the distribution of both parties’ assets and liabilities, spousal maintenance, and superannuation. For a property agreement to be legally binding, both parties must receive legal advice and sign the agreement in the presence of a lawyer.

6. How to Protect Yourself if You Experience Family Violence

1. Understand how family violence is defined in Australia and what counts as family violence

In Australia, family violence refers to any violent, threatening, coercive or controlling behaviour that occurs in a current or past family or intimate relationship. It falls into 8 specific categories:

Physical abuse: Causing physical harm, threatening to harm someone, and similar behaviour.

Verbal abuse: For example, verbal harassment, verbal intimidation, insulting language, and so on.

Social abuse: For example, deliberately belittling you in front of others, fabricating lies about you to others, and so on.

Sexual abuse: Being forced to engage in sexual activity, being forced to watch indecent videos, and so on.

Economic abuse: Using joint property for personal use, incurring debts that you are required to share, and so on.

Religious abuse: Preventing you from practising your religion, or forcing you to follow a particular religion.

Emotional abuse: Using anger and the silent treatment to control you, and so on.

Stalking: Loitering near your home or workplace, constantly texting and calling you, and so on.

2. If you are currently experiencing family violence, call 000 and contact the police.

After you report the incident, the police will very likely issue an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against the perpetrator. An AVO prohibits the perpetrator from engaging in the following behaviours:

Assaulting, harassing, intimidating, threatening or interfering with the protected person;

Intimidating the protected person;

Stalking the protected person.

Final Thoughts

If a couple in Australia is going to divorce or separate, both parties should understand the key principles of property division to avoid unnecessary legal disputes. For example, unlike in China, Australia does not distinguish between pre- and post-marriage property, which makes a legally binding property agreement especially important for protecting both parties’ assets. Australia follows no-fault divorce, so property division looks more at financial and non-financial contributions and similar factors. You also need to pay attention to the relevant issues when transferring property to one of the parties or to the children after divorce. Family-law matters are often the issues people care about most — and the ones they most easily get confused about — so we recommend seeking help from a professional lawyer.