One of the main aims of the project was to obtain a better understanding of marriage breakdown in the Australian context, with a particular focus on gender differences in the social correlates of marriage breakdown. In this paper I present some of the key findings of that project. The project makes two main contributions to previous research into marriage breakdown in Australia: first, it examines gender differences in the social determinants of marriage breakdown in Australia; and second, previous research is extended by examining whether there are gender differences in the decision to separate, taking into account social characteristics.