How do you calculate the actual investment return on a pre-relationship super balance?

We rebuild the unit-price or crediting-rate history of the specific investment option held by the member for each financial year between cohabitation and separation, then compound the net-of-fees returns across that period. We do not use a generic CPI, term-deposit or 'balanced fund' rate.

What if my fund's option history isn't available?

We use the fund's published default-strategy returns (typically the MySuper option) and disclose the substitution clearly in the report's assumptions section. APRA's Heatmap data and the fund's annual reports provide the underlying figures.

How do you handle fund switches and option changes during the relationship?

We track rollovers and option switches using member statements, MyGov ATO contribution data and fund correspondence, then apply the correct return series to each segment. The grossed-up pre-cohabitation balance is the sum of those segments.

How are administration and asset-based fees treated?

Administration and asset-based fees are deducted from the rolled-forward balance on the same pro-rata basis the fund applied them, using the fund's published Product Disclosure Statement and annual report figures.

Do you apply the same method to defined benefit interests?

No — defined benefit interests are valued under Schedule 2 of the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2001, often modified by Attorney-General-approved scheme factors. The roll-forward method applies only to accumulation interests.

Methodology

A transparent actuarial method, anchored to APRA data and the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations.

Every report sets out its inputs, assumptions, sources and sensitivities — so the calculation can be tested, replicated and relied upon in mediation or at hearing.

1. The Family Law framework

Under Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act 1975, superannuation is treated as property of the relationship and may be split between parties. However, the contribution each party made before cohabitation — and the investment growth that contribution would have generated regardless of the marriage — is typically treated as a section 79(4)(a) initial contribution and excluded from the divisible pool.

The court does not prescribe a single method for quantifying that non-marital component. Our role is to provide an evidenced, consistent and conservative number that both parties (and the court) can rely on.

2. The actual-history method

Where statements are available from start of cohabitation through to separation, we apply the following steps:

Anchor balance. Identify the closing balance at the cohabitation date for each fund and investment option.
Strip subsequent contributions. Each post-cohabitation contribution, rollover and government co-contribution is segregated as marital growth, not pre-relationship.
Apply actual net returns. The anchor balance is rolled forward year by year using the fund's published net investment return for the option held — not a generic balanced return.
Deduct attributable fees. Administration and asset-based fees are deducted on the same pro-rata basis the fund applied them.
Reconcile to separation date. The grossed-up pre-cohabitation balance at separation is the non-marital component. The residual is the marital pool.

3. The Balance Benchmark Rating

Many separating couples cannot locate twenty-year-old super statements. Our Balance Benchmark Rating produces a defensible estimate using only verifiable inputs:

Age and earnings cohort from ATO Notice of Assessment history, mapped to expected SG contributions for the relevant period.
Industry and fund profile matched against APRA quarterly statistics and Heatmap return data.
Default-option investment returns applied unless statement evidence shows a different option.
Sensitivity range reported as a low, central and high estimate so the report's reliance is clear.

The Rating is explicitly identified as an estimate in every report, with the assumptions and limitations stated on the face of the opinion.

4. Defined benefit and SMSF interests

Defined benefit interests are valued using the prescribed methods in the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2001, modified where appropriate by scheme-specific factors approved by the Attorney-General. SMSF interests are valued on a look-through basis to the underlying assets, including market valuations of real property, unlisted entities and limited recourse borrowing arrangements.

5. Standards and independence

All reports are prepared in accordance with the Actuaries Institute's Professional Standard 200 (Actuarial Advice to a Superannuation Fund) where applicable, and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia's Expert Witness Code of Conduct. We accept instructions on a single-expert, joint-expert or shadow-expert basis and decline matters where independence cannot be maintained.