Norbis v Norbis
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| 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.[1]
The case is important to Family Law; for its holdings concerning the correct approach when assessing parties' contributions, during a division of assets.
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.[Note 1] 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.[4]
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%.[5][6]
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.[7]
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.