| Norbis v Norbis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | High Court of Australia |
| Full case name | Norbis v Norbis |
| Decided | 1986 |
| Citation | 161 CLR 513 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Mason, Wilson, Brennan, Deane and Dawson JJ |
| Case opinions | |
| appeal allowed Mason & Deane JJ Wilson & Dawson JJ Brennan J | |
Norbis v Norbis is a decision of the High Court of Australia.
The case is important to Family Law; for its holdings concerning the correct approach when assessing parties' contributions, during a division of assets.
It is the 30th most cited case of the High Court.
Facts
The parties to the appeal were two people seeking divorce after a 30 year marriage. Three years after the divorce was granted, orders were made by the Family Court altering the property interests of the parties. The overall effect of the trial judge's order was to grant the husband 60%. This figure was reached after dividing five of the couple's six major assets in favour of the husband, and one in favour of the wife.
The orders were varied upon appeal to the Full Family Court, who instead adopted a global approach to asset division. This choice of method effectively reduced the husband's entitlement to 57%.
The husband then obtained special leave before the High Court
Judgement
The High Court was asked to decide whether a 'global' or 'asset by asset' calculation is the correct approach when assessing contributions to a relationship.
The Court decided to preference neither alternative. It held that the legislation did not require a certain method; and that the most appropriate method would depend on the facts. Either approach might be wholly or partially adopted depending on the circumstances.
It noted that an assessment of a homemaker's contribution would usually be done by reference to the whole of their partner's property. This would convenience a global approach being adopted to asset division in most cases.
See also
Notes
- These orders were made under s79(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
References
- "BarNet Jade - Find recent Australian legal decisions, judgments, case summaries for legal professionals (Judgments And Decisions Enhanced)". jade.io. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- "Note: LawCite citation statistics track the written judgements of courts, journal articles, and tribunals. (both in Australia and overseas)". Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- Note: data is as of September 2020
- Wilson & Dawson JJ, at
- Wilson & Dawson JJ, at
- Gray, Kevin (1986). "matrimonial property — new developments" (PDF). Australian Law Reform Commission - Reform Journal. 51: 125 – via Austlii.
- "Property Case Studies | Armstrong Legal | Family Lawyers". Armstrong Legal. Retrieved 1 June 2021.