Drew & Drew

The appeal in *Drew & Drew* concerned a dispute over the division of property following a marriage. The wife appealed a decision made by a trial judge, asserting that the judge had erred in assessing the parties' contributions to the property pool. Specifically, the wife argued that the trial judge had incorrectly found a significant disparity in direct financial contributions favouring the husband, and that some of the husband's contributions had been "double counted" in the assessment. The appeal was heard by Finn, Kay, and Coleman JJ.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether the trial judge had made an error in evaluating the direct financial contributions of the parties, particularly in relation to the alleged double counting of the husband's contributions. This required the Court to consider the principles governing the assessment of contributions under the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) and how those principles were applied by the trial judge.

The Court found that the trial judge had indeed erred in assessing the contributions, leading to an inequitable property division. The Court allowed the appeal, concluding that the discretion of the trial judge miscarried. The Full Court then re-exercised that discretion. The Court ordered that the husband pay the wife a further sum of $447,382, less any amounts already paid under the original orders. Both parties were granted costs certificates under the *Federal Proceedings (Costs) Act 1981* (Cth).