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One of the key considerations of Section 79 of the Family Law Act is the parties’ financial/non-financial contributions to the relationship. Generally, the greater the contributions, the more favourable the outcome is for the contributing party.

However, and as the names suggest, contributions can be both financial, or non-financial. Non-financial contributions could be homemaker contributions by the stay-at-home party in reasonable circumstances. 

Since non-financial contributions could be given favourable weight in property divisions. The corollary is, often, that the longer the period of cohabitation of the parties, the greater the benefits that flow from such non-financial contributions. Hence, longer periods of cohabitation often result in a more favourable outcome for the party that provides more non-financial contributions.

The parties’ assets and liabilities form the net matrimonial asset pool. Property division is conducted on the net matrimonial asset pool.

Parties should be aware that assets do not only pertain to assets under the parties’ names, but also assets in which they have made contributions to e.g. when one party purchases a property but it is held on his/her behalf by a friend/trustee. Assets also include the parties’ global assets and are not limited to the parties’ assets in Australia.

Liabilities also do not only include the obvious ones such as bank and personal loans. In our experience, liabilities in relation to funds from close friends and family members tend to form the greatest challenges in determining the true legal nature of these pseudo-liabilities.