It is legal for people who are still married to get engaged. An engagement does not have the same legal implications that a marriage does.
However, while you may get engaged while you are still married to another person, you will not be able to marry your current partner until you obtain a divorce. Bigamy is an offence under the Marriage Act 1961, and a person who commits the offence may face a penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment.
Parties cannot make an application to the court for a divorce until they have been separated from their partner for at least a year.
After a person files a divorce application, they will be given a court date for the divorce hearing. It is highly recommended that wedding plans are not made until the court order for a divorce has been made. In most circumstances, a divorce is finalised one month and one day after it is granted. There may be exceptions where there are special circumstances (for example if one party is terminally ill). The divorce Order is Even if a date has been set for a divorce hearing, plans for your next wedding should be held off until you receive a hardcopy of the order is sent to your residential address or your lawyer’s address. The divorce process is extremely technical and if the parties are not served correctly or if there are errors with the application, the divorce may not be granted. In such circumstances, the divorce hearing can be postponed and the divorce order will not be granted until a later date.