Separating couples are too broke up and are remaining together amid housing and cost-of-living pressures.
The finding was contained in a new rapid review from Relationships Australia NSW which shows housing and cost-of-living pressures are reshaping separation.
The organisation says their practitioners are increasingly seeing couples who have separated but continue to share a household because there is nowhere else for them to go.
“We’re hearing more stories of couples who’ve separated but simply can’t afford to maintain two households,” said Elisabeth Shaw, the chief executive officer of Relationships Australia NSW.
“For some, it’s a temporary compromise. For others, it becomes a long-term necessity that brings real emotional challenges, particularly for children.”
SEPARATING UNDER SAME ROOF
For many separating families, this move is a financial or practical necessity, often to maintain stability for children while trying to navigate separation.
Relationships Australia NSW says a snapshot of 19 practitioners’ cases reveal more than half of couples said they stayed under the one roof because they couldn’t afford separate housing.
While some pointed to fewer disruptions for children, most described tension, blurred boundaries and significant emotional strain from doing so.
It says reported experiences varied widely, from co-operative co-parenting to ongoing conflict and uncertainty about roles.
A small number of clients were also advised legally not to leave the family home, even when conflict was high.
Families are doing their best in constrained circumstances, drawing on considerable resilience while living in limbo.
The review highlights the toll this can take, especially when parents lack support to manage communication, boundaries and co-parenting while sharing the same space.
For more about their work, click here to visit their website or call them on 1300 364 277.
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