S & S

The Full Court of the Family Court of Australia, comprising Kay and May & Carter JJ, considered an appeal concerning property settlement orders made by a single judge. The appeal was brought by S, who alleged errors in the assessment of contributions and the size of the asset pool, as well as in the application of the adjustments under section 75(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The dispute centred on the division of marital assets between S and her former spouse.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the trial judge had erred in: (a) failing to properly assess the contributions of the parties to the acquisition, conservation, and improvement of the property pool; (b) making errors in determining the value of the net asset pool available for division; and (c) incorrectly applying the discretionary adjustments available under section 75(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) in light of the parties' respective circumstances.

The Full Court found that the trial judge had made significant errors in assessing the parties' contributions, particularly in relation to S's non-financial contributions. Furthermore, the Court determined that the valuation of certain assets within the pool was flawed, leading to an inaccurate calculation of the total divisible property. Consequently, the section 75(2) adjustments were also found to have been applied on an erroneous factual and legal basis. The Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the original property settlement orders.