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Divorce rates are set to 'explode' as Covid restrictions are unwound with requests for legal advice soaring.
Many estranged couples have delayed their formal separation proceedings as courtrooms were closed during the lockdowns.
In 2020, the divorce rate rose by just 1.9 per per cent compared with 2019, with 49,510 of them last year granted, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed this week.
The per capita divorce rate, for every 1,000 people, stood at 1.9 per cent, a level well below the 2.9 per cent level of 2001, with the number steadily declining during the past two decades.
Divorce rates are set to 'explode' as Covid restrictions are unwound with requests for legal advice soaring. Many estranged couples have delayed their formal separation proceedings as courtrooms were closed during the lockdowns (pictured is a stock image)
But the Separation Guide, which helps warring couples navigate a divorce, said its own data showed a 90 per cent surge in requests for legal advice in 2021, when residents of Sydney and Melbourne lived through strict, lengthy lockdowns.
Chief executive Angela Harbinson said the Family Court was likely to be inundated with divorce cases, which can take anywhere from 12
