These terms explain how Family Law Valuations ("we", "us", "our") provides its valuation services. Family Law Valuations is a specialist division of Oliver Group and is a trading name of Wellness Pty Ltd, trading as Oliver Group and Family Law Valuations (40 684 151 013). The terms apply to both of our services. Where a written engagement letter, letter of instruction or court order for your matter says something different, that document prevails over these terms and over anything on this website.
Sending an enquiry, uploading documents or speaking with us does not create an engagement. An engagement begins only when we have confirmed it in writing and, for a Court Expert Valuation, when the appointed expert has accepted the instructions.
The two services
We provide two services. They are different tools for different situations. Which one is appropriate depends on the circumstances of the matter and on any instructions or court orders that apply.
Settlement Valuation. A fixed-fee independent valuation of a business or ownership interest ($2,995 + GST) prepared to assist private negotiations, mediation, property-settlement discussions, review by your solicitor or accountant, and an assessment of whether a more extensive expert report is required. The Settlement Valuation is prepared for negotiation and mediation purposes. It is not prepared for filing or reliance as expert evidence in court.
Court Expert Valuation. An independent expert report (from $8,995 + GST) for matters where a valuation is intended for filing or reliance in court. Engagement is subject to an initial conflict and suitability assessment, review of the proposed instructions and acceptance by the appointed expert. The final scope and fee depend on the business, the entity structure, the quality of the records and the issues in dispute, and are confirmed in writing before work begins.
Your engagement letter prevails
Before work starts we send an engagement letter (or, for a Court Expert Valuation, we confirm acceptance of a letter of instruction). That document records the business or interest to be valued, the purpose of the valuation, the valuation date, the scope of work, the information required, the fee and the payment terms. If there is any inconsistency between that document, these terms and this website, the engagement letter or letter of instruction applies, followed by these terms. Website content is general information only and forms no part of the engagement.
Scope and fees
All fees are stated in Australian dollars and exclude GST, which is added at the applicable rate.
Settlement Valuation. The fee is fixed at $2,995 + GST for the scope described in the engagement letter. That scope generally includes a review of the business and ownership structure, analysis of financial statements and relevant management accounts, normalisation of business earnings, consideration of owner remuneration and private or non-recurring expenses, selection and explanation of the valuation methodology, consideration of business-specific risks, analysis of goodwill and the extent to which its sources depend on the owner where relevant, calculation of enterprise value and equity value, valuation of the relevant ownership interest, a written independent valuation report and a draft for factual review before finalisation. The report is generally issued within seven business days after payment and receipt of all required information, subject to complexity. That is an estimate, not a promise, and it restarts if material information arrives late or changes.
Court Expert Valuation. The fee is quoted from $8,995 + GST. That figure is a starting point, not a quotation for your matter. The final fee is confirmed in writing after the conflict and suitability assessment and the scope review, and depends on the business, the entity structure, the quality of the records and the issues in dispute. We will not start work on an expert report until the scope and fee have been agreed in writing.
Separately charged work. The following are not included in either fee and are scoped and charged separately, either in the engagement letter or by a further written quotation before the work begins:
- court attendance and cross-examination
- conferences of experts and joint expert reports
- supplementary or updated reports
- forensic accounting work
- material additional document review
- responding to questions beyond reasonable written clarification of the report
Where the Family Law Rules or a court order require the appointed expert to answer questions, attend a conference or attend court, the expert will comply. The fees for that work are payable as set out in the letter of instruction or any order, and the Rules provide for the party requiring attendance to meet the reasonable fees and expenses of attendance unless the court orders otherwise.
Payment. All fees are payable in advance. Work begins when payment is received, and for a Settlement Valuation the stated turnaround runs from the later of payment and receipt of all required information. For a Court Expert Valuation the quoted fee is payable in advance of the work it covers, and any work that is scoped and quoted separately, including the items listed above, is payable in advance of that work. Payment details are set out on the invoice. Where the Family Law Rules or a court order provide for a party to meet the expert's fees, that does not alter who is liable to us under these terms unless we agree otherwise in writing.
Changes to scope. If the matter turns out to require work beyond the agreed scope (for example, additional entities, a second valuation date, or records that require reconstruction), we will tell you, explain why, and agree a written variation before doing the additional work.
The information you provide and how we rely on it
You agree to give us complete, accurate and current information about the business, its ownership and its financial position, and to tell us promptly if anything changes or if you become aware that something you gave us is wrong.
A valuation is not an audit, review or verification of financial information. We rely on the information provided to us and on any representations made to us, and we do not verify it unless the engagement letter says we will. The report identifies the information relied on and the extent to which it was reviewed. If information is missing, inaccurate or incomplete, the conclusion may be affected, we may need to ask for more, and the timetable may extend.
Where the parties dispute a fact, a Settlement Valuation may adopt stated assumptions and say so clearly in the report. In a Court Expert Valuation, the facts and assumptions to be adopted are governed by the instructions. The Family Law Rules provide for a single expert witness to be given an agreed statement of facts or, where the parties cannot agree, a statement of facts from each party. The appointed expert does not decide disputed questions of fact.
Please do not send us material that you are not entitled to share, and do not send highly sensitive personal material before we have completed the initial conflict check. Our privacy policy explains how we handle what you send.
The draft for factual review
Where appropriate, we provide a draft report to the addressee (and, in a jointly instructed matter, to each instructing party at the same time) so that errors of fact can be corrected before the report is finalised. Factual review covers matters such as names, dates, ownership details, figures transcribed from the records, and documents that were overlooked.
Comments on the draft must be confined to matters of fact and the documents that support them. The choice of methodology, the assumptions adopted, the analysis and the conclusion are the valuer's alone. We do not adjust a conclusion to suit either party's preference. A request to change an opinion that is not supported by a factual basis will be declined, and in a Court Expert Valuation the appointed expert may be required to disclose it.
In a Court Expert Valuation, whether a draft is circulated, and to whom, is governed by the instructions, the Family Law Rules and any court orders. A party must not communicate with a single expert witness other than as those Rules permit, and any communication with the expert must be provided to the other parties at the same time. Where the instructions or orders do not permit a draft, none is provided.
Independence and no advocacy
We act independently. Our role is to determine a supportable value from the available evidence, not to produce the highest or lowest number for either party. Every conclusion must be capable of being explained, tested and defended.
We do not act as an advocate for either party. We do not accept instructions to reach a particular result, and we do not accept a fee that is contingent on the conclusion, the content of the report or the outcome of the matter. We disclose in the report any relationship that a reasonable person might consider relevant to our independence.
No legal, taxation or financial advice
We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. Anything we say about the Family Law Act 1975, the Family Law Rules, court procedure, single expert appointments or what a court may do is a description of the process as we understand it for the purpose of scoping a valuation. It is not legal advice, and you should rely on your own solicitor for advice about your matter.
We do not provide taxation advice or financial product advice. Where the valuation considers a taxation matter (for example, the effect of an entity structure on value), it does so only for the purpose of the valuation and not as advice about your tax position.
Use of and reliance on the report
Settlement Valuation. The report is addressed to the person or persons named as the addressee, for the purpose and as at the valuation date stated in the report. It is prepared for negotiation and mediation purposes and is not prepared for filing or reliance as expert evidence in court. You may provide it to your solicitor, accountant, mediator and the other party and their advisers for the purpose of the negotiation or mediation. It must not be provided to any other person, or used for any other purpose, without our written consent, and we accept no responsibility to anyone other than the addressee who relies on it. If your matter later requires an expert report for court, see the section on moving to a Court Expert Valuation below.
Court Expert Valuation. The report is prepared for the proceedings identified in the instructions, is addressed to the Court and the instructing party or parties, and is to be used in accordance with the instructions, the Family Law Rules and any court orders. It must not be used in other proceedings or for any other purpose without the appointed expert's written consent, subject always to the Court's control of its own proceedings.
Valuation date. A valuation states value as at a particular date. Events after that date may change the value of the business, and we do not update a report unless separately engaged to do so.
The expert engagement (court matters)
Conflict and suitability assessment. Before accepting any instruction for a Court Expert Valuation we assess conflicts and suitability. That assessment uses the names of the parties, the other party's solicitor, the business and its related entities, and the records of Oliver Group and its divisions. We may decline an engagement and are not always able to say why.
Acceptance by the appointed expert. An expert report is signed only by a valuer who is appropriately qualified and experienced for the engagement and who has reviewed and accepted the instructions. The signing valuer will be a Chartered Accountant, a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. The appointed expert may require changes to the proposed instructions, further information or a different scope before accepting. The identity of the appointed expert is confirmed in writing before work begins.
Duty to the Court. The appointed expert's overriding duty is to the Court. That duty prevails over any obligation to the person instructing, or paying the fees of, the expert. The expert must give an objective and unbiased opinion that is independent and impartial, must consider all material facts including those that may detract from the opinion, must tell the Court if a question falls outside the expert's expertise or if the report is based on incomplete or inaccurate information, and must give written notice if the opinion changes after the report is prepared. The expert does not act as an advocate for either party.
Instructions. Instructions must be in writing. Where the parties jointly appoint a single expert witness, or the Court orders one, the instructions and any statement of facts are given in accordance with the Family Law Rules. The report is prepared having regard to the requirements of those Rules and any orders in the proceedings, and contains the statements and verification the Rules require of an expert's report. We do not, and cannot, guarantee that a court will admit, accept or give any particular weight to a report, and the assessment of expert evidence is a matter for the Court.
Questions, conferences and attendance. Clarifying questions, conferences with the expert, conferences of experts, supplementary reports and attendance at court are governed by the Rules and any orders, and are charged separately as described above.
Continuing obligations. If, after the report is issued, the appointed expert becomes aware that an opinion was based on information that was false, misleading or materially incomplete, the expert may be required to inform the parties or the Court and to issue a supplementary report. The expert may also apply to the Court for procedural orders to assist in carrying out the expert's function.
Moving from a Settlement Valuation to a Court Expert Valuation
If your matter later requires an expert report for court, we will assess whether the initial work can be carried forward and provide a separate quotation before proceeding. The appointed expert must independently review the material and may require further information or analysis.
Unnecessary duplication will be avoided where appropriate. We do not promise that the Settlement Valuation fee will be credited, in full or in part, against the fee for a Court Expert Valuation. The appointed expert independently controls and verifies the opinion, may adopt different assumptions or methods, and may reach a different conclusion. A Settlement Valuation report is not converted into an expert report; a Court Expert Valuation is a separate engagement on its own instructions.
Confidentiality and conflicts
We keep the information you give us confidential and use it only for the engagement, for conflict checking and as required by law. We may disclose it to Oliver Group where the matter is handled by that practice, to your own advisers where you authorise it, to the other party and their advisers where the instructions require it, to a court where required by law, by the Rules or by an order, and to service providers who are bound by confidentiality. Our privacy policy describes this in more detail.
We keep a record of the parties, businesses and advisers involved in each enquiry and engagement so that we can check for conflicts in future matters. If a conflict exists or arises, we will decline or withdraw, and we will not disclose the other party's confidential information in doing so.
We do not advise on legal professional privilege. Speak to your solicitor before sending us any document over which privilege may be claimed.
Cancellation and variation
You may cancel an engagement by written notice.
Cancellation by you. Fees are payable in advance and are not refundable. If you cancel after paying, the fee is not refunded, whether or not the work has begun and whether or not the report has been issued. Nothing is charged, and no work begins, until you accept a written engagement letter or quotation, so the decision to proceed and the decision to pay are yours to make before any money is due.
Cancellation by us. To be confirmed: what happens to a fee already paid if we decline to proceed or withdraw, for example because a conflict emerges after payment or the appointed expert does not accept the instructions
Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Nothing in this clause excludes, restricts or modifies any guarantee, right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law or under any other law, where that guarantee, right or remedy cannot lawfully be excluded. If a consumer guarantee applies to our services and we fail to comply with it, you have the remedies that law gives you, and this clause does not affect them.
We may decline to proceed, or may withdraw, if a conflict emerges, if the information required is not provided, if we receive instructions that are inconsistent with our independence, or if fees are not paid. In a Court Expert Valuation, any withdrawal is subject to the appointed expert's obligations to the Court and to the terms of the instructions and any orders.
Any variation to the scope, fee or timetable must be agreed in writing.
Liability
Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any guarantee, right or remedy that you have under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) or any other law where that guarantee, right or remedy cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified.
Subject to that, and to the extent the law allows: our liability for a failure to comply with a guarantee that applies to the services is limited to supplying the services again or paying the cost of having the services supplied again; we are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit or loss of opportunity; we are not liable to any person other than the addressee of the report; and we are not liable for any loss arising from information that was incomplete, inaccurate or withheld, or from the use of a report for a purpose, or by a person, for which it was not prepared.
Governing law
To be confirmed: governing law and jurisdiction
Contact
Wellness Pty Ltd, Level 7, 55 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. You can also reach us through the contact page or the confidential enquiry form.
Our disclaimer and privacy policy apply to your use of this website and to the information you provide to us.