Know your super's value before you settle.
Independent actuarial reports for divorce and separation. Understand your superannuation interest, document your pre-relationship balance where relevant, and give your lawyer clear evidence for negotiations or court.
Valuation report: A$544.50 incl. GST (A$495 + GST)
A valuation provides evidence; it does not determine your property settlement or guarantee that any amount will be excluded.
Whether instructed by one party, jointly by both, or appointed as a single expert, the actuary's overriding duty is to the Court. No referral fees, kickbacks or fund affiliations.
Flat A$495 + GST for every valuation report. Agreed in writing before instruction — no hourly billing, no scope creep, no surprises.
Every report complies with the FCFCOA Expert Witness Code of Conduct (Family Law Rules 2021, Ch. 7) and is signed by a qualified actuary.
One flat fee. A$544.50 incl. GST. Signed report, every assumption disclosed.
- Independent actuarial calculation
Signed by a Fellow or Associate of the Actuaries Institute of Australia.
- Pre-cohabitation balance reconstruction
From member statements, ATO transaction history and APRA fund-return data.
- Actual fund-and-option roll-forward
Net-of-fees returns of the specific investment option for each year held.
- Contributions, rollovers & fees treated
Insurance premiums, switches and rollovers reconciled across cohabitation.
- Section 79(4)(a) figure & sensitivity range
An honest band — not a single number — so the Court sees the robustness.
- Full methodology & assumptions disclosed
Cohabitation/separation dates, return series, scheme factors, limitations.
- FCFCOA Code-compliant signed report
Prepared to meet the expert evidence requirements of Chapter 7 of the Family Law Rules 2021. Whether a report can be tendered depends on the appointment and the Court's permission (r 7.10).
- One round of clarifying questions
After delivery, from either party or their lawyers — at no extra charge.
- 5 business day turnaround*
From receipt of complete information. Expedited delivery available on request.
One service, one fixed fee: A$495 + GST (A$544.50 inc. GST) for the pre-relationship superannuation contribution report.
The three questions everyone asks first.
How long does a report take?+
Standard turnaround is 5 business days* from receipt of complete information. Mediation Support Packs can be delivered in 5 business days, and urgent matters can be expedited on request.
What information do you need from me?+
Your most recent member statement, the date of cohabitation, and the date of separation. Where available, statements covering the relationship period help. If records are missing, we use APRA fund-return data and ATO contribution histories to fill the gaps.
How do you handle benchmark estimates when statements are missing?+
We first try to recover the missing history from the fund, the ATO and your own records. Where that fails, the Balance Benchmark Rating estimates the starting balance from your earnings history, the super guarantee rate at the time and published fund returns, and reports a low / central / high range. The report states clearly that the result is an estimate, with every assumption and limitation.
Every report is signed by a qualified actuary with expert-witness credentials in superannuation.
Not a template. Not a paralegal spreadsheet. Our valuations are prepared and signed by Fellows and Associates of the Actuaries Institute of Australia who specialise in superannuation, hold expert-witness experience in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and comply with the FCFCOA Expert Witness Code of Conduct (Family Law Rules 2021, Chapter 7).
Fellows / Associates of the Actuaries Institute of Australia.
Reports prepared to FCFCOA Code of Conduct standard.
Accumulation, defined benefit, SMSF and hybrid schemes.
Methodology, assumptions and limitations stated upfront.
All super usually goes into the pool. What you brought in still has to be weighed.
What a party brought into the relationship — plus the investment return that balance would have earned — is a s 79(4)(a) financial contribution the Court weighs in their favour. The whole balance still enters the pool; without an actuarial calculation, that pre-relationship contribution goes unevidenced and unweighed. We provide the number, defensibly.
Watch: the hidden cost of splitting super 50/50.
The super you brought in is a section 79(4)(a) initial contribution.
There is no fixed formula — but there is a settled body of authority. The Court accepts evidenced, grossed-up valuations of pre-relationship super as a direct financial contribution. Vague assertions don't move mediators or registrars. Numbers do.
High Court — s 79(2) just-and-equitable is a threshold question; the court must first identify existing legal and equitable interests before altering them.
Articulated the sequential s 79 analysis (now codified by the 2024 Act); confirmed superannuation enters the property pool under Part VIIIB.
Discusses single-pool and separate-list approaches; the choice is discretionary, and no pre-relationship pool is automatically protected.
Foundational authority on weighing initial contributions in the context of the whole relationship — not by a fixed formula.
First major Full Court application of Stanford — the just-and-equitable threshold is not a formality.
Property contributed before, during or after cohabitation can be brought into the pool; connection to the marriage informs weight under s 79(4).
25-year marriage: contribution split moved from 2/3:1/3 to 53:47 — long relationships are contextual but evidenced initial contributions still shift the result.
High Court reaffirmation of Stanford — the s 79(2) threshold and identification step remain mandatory.
Understand the figures before negotiating.
A common shortcut is to split current super balances 50/50 without first measuring what each party brought in, in today's dollars. Compounding can make that difference larger than people expect.
Illustration only: $45,000 of super in 2003 rolled forward to 2025 — the same example as our worked case, not a typical result.
The contribution rule that puts your pre-relationship super on the ledger — once it's evidenced.
Standard turnaround for a signed accumulation report, fixed fee A$495 + GST.
One defensible number for every matter.
Actual-history valuation
Where statements are available, we trace contributions and investment returns from cohabitation to separation, isolating the pre-relationship component grossed up by actual fund performance.
Benchmark estimate
Where records are missing, our Balance Benchmark Rating estimates the starting balance from earnings history and published returns, with a disclosed low / central / high range.
Expert witness report
Court-format reports compliant with the FCFCOA Expert Witness Code of Conduct (FCFCOA (Family Law) Rules 2021, Chapter 7), suitable for mediation, conciliation conferences and contested hearings.
Get a directional number in under two minutes.
The free calculator is a simple illustration: it grows the balance you enter at an assumed constant rate of return, so you can see roughly what a pre-relationship balance might be worth today. It does not use your fund's actual returns and it does not decide what is divided — a signed report uses actual fund history and states every assumption.
Estimates are indicative only and not a substitute for a signed actuarial report. Court-ready figures require the full valuation pathway.
- 01
Enter the basics
Fund, investment option, balance at cohabitation, and dates of cohabitation and separation.
- 02
Choose an assumed return
Pick a constant net rate of return. The calculator applies it every year — it is an illustration, not your fund's actual history.
- 03
Roll forward
Your pre-relationship balance is grossed up year-by-year using the matched return series, net of fees.
- 04
See the gap
You get an indicative today's-dollars figure — what you brought in, valued in today's dollars so it can be weighed as a contribution — not an exclusion from the pool.
From instruction to signed report — 5 business days.
Engagement is fixed-fee, scoped by email, and confirmed by retainer letter the same day. We work directly with parties, lawyers and mediators.
See exactly what lands in mediation.
Before you instruct, download an illustrative sample report. It's the same format we hand to mediators, registrars and opposing counsel — clear enough for parties to follow, rigorous enough to withstand cross-examination.
The sample uses a fictitious matter with invented names, dates and figures. It shows the structure and method of a real report; it is not a real client report.
- Plain-English executive summary
The headline number — pre-relationship balance in today's dollars — on page one, with a one-paragraph explanation a mediator can read aloud.
- Pool reconciliation table
Side-by-side current balance vs. pre-cohabitation contribution, showing the initial-contribution figure alongside the whole balance, which remains part of the property considered.
- Year-by-year roll-forward
Transparent table showing how the cohabitation-date balance was grossed up using actual fund returns, net of fees.
- Methodology & assumptions
Data sources (fund statements, fund-published returns, ATO contribution histories), the period each source covers, any proxies used, and any estimates flagged.
- Authority & case law references
Stanford, Hickey, Coghlan, Pierce, Bevan, Calvin & McTier, Jabour — cited where they support the treatment applied.
- Expert declaration
Signed by a qualified actuary and compliant with the FCFCOA Expert Witness Code of Conduct (Family Law Rules 2021, Chapter 7).
Mediation Support Pack adds a one-page settlement-options summary tailored for the conference.
Compare report typesBring clarity before mediation.
Most matters can be scoped by email within a day. Reports are typically ready within 5 business days* from receipt of complete information.