Most people understand the term “alimony” from the American culture of movies, books and stories. However it is not an Australian legal term.
A somewhat similar concept in our legal system is “spousal maintenance”, and it does not carry with it the sensationalism of alimony as popularised in the Hollywood stories.
After separation one party to a marriage may be required to pay spousal maintenance to the other party.
The payment of spousal maintenance can be periodic or it can be by way of a lump-sum.
Whether or not spousal maintenance is paid is dependent on one party’s need for financial support after separation, and the other party’s capacity to pay that support.