In examining contributions, the Court looks at three things:
- the direct and indirect financial contributions the parties have made to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of the property;
- the direct and indirect non-financial contributions the parties have made to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of the property; and
- the contributions made to the welfare of the family, including in the capacity of homemaker or parent.
Mark MacDiarmid is accredited as a specialist in family law by the Law Society of NSW, having become a lawyer in 1986 after graduating with degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology from Charles Sturt University, a Graduate Diploma in Family Dispute Resolution from the Australian Institute of Social Relations, and is a member of the NSW Legal Aid Commission’s Independent Children’s Lawyer and Mental Health Advocacy Panels. He is a member of the Law Society of NSW, the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, a practitioner member of LEADR and a member of the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM). Mark is accredited by the Federal Attorney General’s Department to provide compulsory Family Dispute Resolution and to issue s60I Certificates under the Family Law Act for disputes involving children. He is also an Accredited Mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System, a member of the Law Society of NSW's Mediator Panel and the NSW District Court panel of Mediators.

