STATE AND TERRITORY DATA

In 2010, the number of divorces granted in all States and Territories increased compared with 2009, with the largest increases occurring in Queensland (244, or 2.2%) and Victoria (208, or 1.7%).

2.9 NUMBER OF DIVORCES, by Jurisdiction(a) - Selected years - 1990-2010
	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
1990	12 414	10 406	8 509	4 066	3 845	1 170	421	1 804	42 635
2000	14 756	12 401	10 092	4 036	5 276	1 329	455	1 561	49 906
2004	15 007	12 544	13 279	4 147	4 337	1 404	434	1 595	52 747
2005	15 172	12 512	12 383	3 669	5 265	1 346	470	1 582	52 399
2006	14 482	12 110	12 175	3 913	5 544	1 233	426	1 491	51 375
2007	13 726	11 833	11 058	3 534	4 932	1 127	417	1 333	47 963
2008	13 914	11 623	10 615	3 466	4 718	1 154	367	1 351	47 209
2009	14 617	12 160	11 174	3 663	4 767	1 215	433	1 419	49 448
2010	14 655	12 368	11 418	3 849	4 835	1 257	429	1 429	50 240
(a) Divorces are presented by the state or territory where the court granting divorce was located, rather than the state of usual residence of the applicants. The ABS advises caution in the interpretation and comparison of data at a state or territory level. See Explanatory Notes 26-31 for more information.

Queensland and Tasmania had the highest crude divorce rate with 2.5 divorces per 1,000 estimated resident population, while the Northern Territory had the lowest divorce rate at 1.9.

Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory reported the highest proportion of all divorces which involved children at 52.7% and 52.5% respectively. New South Wales (47.6%) and the Northern Territory (48.0%) had the lowest proportion of divorces involving children.

The highest median age at divorce for both males and females was in Tasmania with 46.1 years for males and 43.2 years for females. New South Wales had the lowest median ages at divorce (43.7 years for males and 40.7 years for females).

Median length of marriage prior to divorce was highest in Tasmania (14.8 years), while New South Wales had the shortest median length of marriage to divorce (11.3 years).

In 2010, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory all recorded more joint applications for divorce than male or female only applications.

2.10 SELECTED DIVORCE INDICATORS, States and territories(a) - 2010
			NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT(b)	Aust.(c)
Divorces granted		no.	14 655	12 368	11 418	3 849	4 835	1 257	429	1 429	50 240
Crude divorce rate(d)			2.0	2.2	2.5	2.3	2.1	2.5	1.9	na	2.3
Divorces involving children(e)
	Proportion of all divorces	%	47.6	48.1	51.8	51.2	50.0	52.7	48.0	52.5	49.5
	Average number of children per divorce(f)	no.	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.0	2.0	1.9
Median age at divorce
	Males	years	43.7	44.1	44.8	44.9	45.1	46.1	45.3	44.5	44.4
	Females	years	40.7	41.5	41.8	42.3	42.2	43.2	41.2	41.6	41.5
Median length of marriage
	To separation	years	7.9	8.8	9.1	9.9	9.3	10.7	8.7	9.9	8.8
	To divorce	years	11.3	12.2	12.7	13.5	13.2	14.8	12.5	13.3	12.3
Applicant(g)
	Male	no.	3 863	3 399	2 909	1 011	1 200	340	130	363	13 215
	Female	no.	5 094	4 744	4 106	1 493	1 525	556	115	450	18 083
	Joint	no.	5 698	4 224	4 403	1 345	2 110	361	184	616	18 941
na not available
(a) Divorces are presented by the state/territory location of the court granting divorce rather than usual residence, and as such caution should be taken in comparing divorce numbers with the populations of each state/territory. See Explanatory Notes 26-31 for more information.
(b) Rates for the Australian Capital Territory are not published due to the high proportion of applicants from south-eastern New South Wales and Victoria who apply for divorce through Australian Capital Territory courts. See Explanatory Note 28 for more information.
(c) The total may be greater than the sum of its components as it includes divorces granted where the state/territory of registration was not available.
(d) Per 1,000 estimated resident population at 30 June. See Glossary and Explanatory Notes 26 and 31 for more information.
(e) Unmarried children of the marriage who were aged under 18 years at the time of application for divorce. See Glossary for more information.
(f) Excludes divorces not involving children.
(g) Excludes divorces where type of applicant is not stated.

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