BETWEEN:MS BONNETTApplicantAND:MR BONNETTRespondent

The matter before the court involved competing applications by Ms Bonnett (the applicant wife) and Mr Bonnett (the respondent husband) for the adjustment of interests in matrimonial property, spouse maintenance, and a departure from a child support assessment. The parties had accumulated significant wealth through their hard work, including acquiring investment properties. However, the relevant properties, including the family home, had been sold, resulting in a shortfall to the mortgagee bank and leaving minimal assets. The primary remaining assets of significant value were the parties' superannuation interests. The parties had three children, with the two elder children having special needs. The wife had been out of the paid workforce for 12 years, while the husband had remarried and had another child from that relationship.

The court was required to determine the appropriate division of the parties' remaining assets, specifically their superannuation interests, and to consider applications for spouse maintenance and a departure from the standard child support assessment. Key issues included the wife's significant need for financial support due to her prolonged absence from the workforce and the husband's capacity to provide that support, as well as the needs of the children, particularly those with special needs.

Cleary J ordered a superannuation split in favour of the wife, awarding her 100 per cent of a specified amount from the husband's interest in the E Super Fund. The husband was ordered to carry the outstanding mortgage debt owed to H Bank. The court also ordered a departure from the standard child support assessment, requiring the husband to pay $1,500 per week for the three children, and awarded the wife $500 per week in spousal maintenance until the youngest child turns 18. The division of assets was noted to represent an approximate 70/30 split in favour of the wife, reflecting her contributions and future needs, as well as the husband's superior financial position.