Read our Complete Guide to Rule 43.
Rule 43 or Rule 43(6): which route do you need?
Quick answer: If you do not yet have an interim divorce order and need maintenance, care/contact or a contribution to legal costs, start with the main Rule 43 guide. If you already have a Rule 43 order and your facts have materially changed, use Rule 43(6). A variation is not an appeal or a second attempt at the same evidence.
| If this is your situation | Use this route | Read next |
| No interim order yet | Prepare a first Rule 43 application for interim maintenance, child care/contact, contribution to legal costs or urgent divorce support. | Rule 43 in South Africa |
| Existing Rule 43 order, facts changed | Use Rule 43(6), but only with evidence of a material change or genuinely new facts. | This Rule 43(6) variation guide |
| The other party is not complying | Do not disguise enforcement as variation. Check contempt, attachment, collection or compliance steps. | Enforcing a Rule 43 order and contempt of court |
| Your divorce is in the Regional Court | Check the Rule 58 route rather than assuming High Court Rule 43 applies. | Rule 58 vs Rule 43 |
| The dispute is long-term child maintenance affordability | Use the correct maintenance-variation route; do not use the Maintenance Court to vary a live Rule 43 order without advice. | Reducing child maintenance and maintenance lawyer route |
Official sources: see the Uniform Rules of Court and the Department of Justice Rule 43 notice form. The route is evidence-driven: changed income, medical needs, school arrangements, care/contact facts or new information must be proved clearly.
Ask SD Law to assess the correct Rule 43 route before you file a variation, enforcement step or fresh interim-relief application.
Rule 43 orders cannot be appealed but they can be varied if circumstances change. But you must go through the correct process and provide relevant evidence of your changed situation. Don’t attempt to appeal the Rule 43 order or use the Maintenance Court to vary it. You will only waste the court’s time and incur the wrath of the judge.
You must use the Rule 43(6) procedure and show material change in your circumstances, such as income shock, medical needs, school changes, or new facts that were previously unavailable. Courts apply this strictly.
Here is what you need to do:
- Audit the change (dates, documents: payslips, bank statements, medical reports)
- Build a budget showing then vs. now. Propose new line items
- Produce concise affidavits and attach material proofs. Expect your credibility to be challenged
- Ask for interim relief plus costs but don’t be greedy in the amount you ask for
You can’t backdate relief. The order will be varied going forward. However, if you are experiencing hardship caused by insufficient maintenance in the past you can motivate for an arrears payment – but do so sparingly.
If there is insufficient evidence you could consider asking the court to invoke 43(5) for targeted information.
Where the real issue is not only interim divorce relief but a longer-term change in affordability, see our guide on reducing child maintenance in South Africa.
Request a free call back to discuss your Rule 43 variation matter with us.