FamilyLawSuper.com.au — Business Plan

1. Executive summary

FamilyLawSuper.com.au is a niche actuarial consultancy that exists to answer one question, definitively: how much of a separating couple's superannuation is matrimonial property, and how much is not? The practice prepares fixed-fee, court-ready expert reports that quantify each party's pre-cohabitation balance, project that balance forward through actual fund returns to the date of separation, and isolate the marital component for division under Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act 1975.

Where complete records are unavailable, the practice produces a proprietary Balance Benchmark Rating — a defensible estimate using ATO income history and APRA fund-return data, reported with explicit sensitivity ranges.

Reports are accepted as expert evidence in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and are routinely used to settle matters at mediation without the need for a contested hearing.

2. The market opportunity

Approximately 49,000 divorces are granted in Australia each year (ABS 3310.0), and a materially larger number of de facto relationships separate. Superannuation is one of the two largest assets in the great majority of these matters, behind only the family home. Yet the standard process — Form 6 / Form 13 disclosure of the current balance — captures none of the "what-was-brought-in" question, and few generalist family lawyers can answer it with confidence.

The market addressed is therefore the gap between (a) the standard super disclosure that family lawyers already have, and (b) the contested expert evidence only large firms currently commission. A defensible, fixed-fee report priced in the A$880–A$2,200 band can serve middle-market mediations that today settle on rough-justice splits.

3. Customers & channels

• Family lawyers — primary referrer, repeat economics.
• Mediators and FDR practitioners — high-volume, time-sensitive.
• Parties acting in person — direct web traffic to the SPA.
• Barristers and counsel — for trial-grade expert reports and concurrent evidence.
• Independent Children's Lawyers — referred where superannuation drives broader settlement.

Acquisition is led by SEO on the technical question (e.g. "valuing super brought into a marriage Australia"), targeted CPD content for family lawyers, and a directory of split-eligible funds maintained on the site.

4. Services & pricing

• Pre-cohabitation balance valuation — from A$1,650
• Date-of-separation valuation — from A$1,100
• Balance Benchmark Rating estimate — from A$880
• Expert witness report — from A$2,200
• Mediation Support Pack — from A$1,400
• Update / supplementary report — from A$650

All engagements are fixed fee, scoped on a 15-minute call and confirmed by a same-day retainer letter.

5. Methodology & moat

The practice's defensibility rests on three proprietary assets:

1. A continuously updated fund-and-option return library covering the major APRA-regulated funds back to 1 July 1992 (commencement of compulsory SG).
2. The Balance Benchmark Rating model — a cohort-matched estimator producing low / central / high estimates with stated sensitivity.
3. A two-actuary review protocol applied to every signed report, with documented working papers reproducible on subpoena.

6. Operations

The practice operates on a virtual-first model: secure client portal for document exchange, video calls for instruction and evidence, and physical attendance only for mediations and hearings. Standard turnaround of 7–10 business days from receipt of complete information; Mediation Support Packs in 5 business days.

Quality and risk are managed through PI insurance at A$5m per claim, conflict checks on every new instruction, and a written independence declaration in every report.

7. Financial model (Year 1 base case)

• Reports per month: 12 (ramp from 4 to 20)
• Average fee: A$1,650
• Year 1 revenue: ~A$237,000
• Direct cost per report (review, software, disbursements): ~A$180
• Fixed costs (PI, software, content, registrations): ~A$48,000
• Year 1 EBITDA: ~A$163,000 before principal's salary

Year 3 target: 35 reports per month at a stable A$1,750 average, for ~A$735,000 revenue.

8. Risks & mitigations

• Adverse cost orders arising from expert evidence — mitigated by Code of Conduct compliance and two-actuary review.
• Regulatory change in Family Law Superannuation Regulations — monitored via Actuaries Institute working groups.
• Fund data access — mitigated by relationships with major retail and industry funds and subpoena pathways via instructing solicitors.
• Concentration on one law firm — pricing and scheduling rules cap any single firm at 25% of monthly capacity.

9. Twelve-month roadmap

1. Months 1–2: Brand, website launch, PI cover, retainer template, conflict register.
2. Months 2–4: Build fund-and-option return library to v1; Benchmark model v1.
3. Months 3–6: CPD seminar program with three mid-tier family law firms in each capital.
4. Months 6–9: Single-Expert appointments under FCFCOA rules; first contested-hearing engagements.
5. Months 9–12: Hire second actuary; release public Benchmark calculator (lead capture).