Family Dispute Resolution (mediation)

Usually, you have to try Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) before you go to the Family Courts for Parenting Orders.

If you have experienced domestic and family violence, you can apply for Parenting Orders without trying Family Dispute Resolution and without a certificate.

However, sometimes going straight to court may not be the best option for you or you might still want to try Family Dispute Resolution, so it’s important to get get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA.

If you are thinking about doing Family Dispute Resolution, it’s important to tell your lawyer or the Family Dispute Resolution service about any domestic and family violence.

The Family Dispute Resolution service may decide:

• mediation is not appropriate because of domestic and family violence and will give you a certificate, which you can use to start a court case, or

• even though there’s been domestic and family violence, steps can be put in place to make the Family Dispute Resolution safer.

If you have experienced domestic and family violence, you should not ignore an invitation to do Family Dispute Resolution, because a certificate can be issued that says you refused to go.

You should talk to the mediation service about the domestic and family violence and talk about what options you have.

It’s important to get legal advice about whether Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) is appropriate in your case.

If Family Dispute Resolution is appropriate, there are different ways it can run to make it safer and fairer – for example:

• telephone – where the mediation is done over the phone so you don’t have to be face to face with the other person

• online – where the mediation is done online, like through Skype, so you can be in different locations

• shuttle – where the mediator talks to you and then separately talks to the other person so you don’t have to see or hear each other. Sometimes shuttle Family Dispute Resolution is:

•  done over the phone – so the mediator talks to one person, hangs up and then calls the other person

•  done in the same building – so the mediator talks to a person in one room, then walks to the other room to talk to the other person

• legally assisted – where you and the other person can have lawyers to help you.

You can take breaks from the mediation to get legal advice from your lawyer about your options.

If you’re worried about your safety, you should let the mediation service know before the Family Dispute Resolution so they can talk to you about safety arrangements.

If the other person pressures or scares you during the Family Dispute Resolution, the Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (mediator) can stop the mediation part way through.

You must try Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) before you can start a case in the Family Courts, unless one of the following exceptions apply:

• there is a risk of domestic and family violence or child abuse

• your application is urgent (for example, if there is a risk your child will be taken overseas or the other parent will not return the child)

• one parent can’t do mediation because of a physical or mental illness, or because of where they live

• you have Parenting Orders that are less than 12 months old, and the other parent has not followed the orders and shown serious disregard for the orders

• you and the other parent are applying for Consent Orders

• the other parent has already started a case in the Family Courts and you are responding to their application for Parenting Orders.

To see if one of these exceptions apply in your case, get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA.

Just because you think an exception applies in your case, you should not ignore an invitation to do Family Dispute Resolution because a certificate can be issued that says you refused to go.

Get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA about your situation.
For more information about exceptions to Family Dispute Resolution, see resources.

Some government-funded services are free. Others charge different rates depending on your financial situation. Contact the service to ask.

To find a government-funded service, call the Family Relationship Advice Line on 1800 050 321 or use the search tool at www.familyrelationships.gov.au.

If one parent refuses to go to Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) or doesn’t show up, the Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (mediator) may give you a certificate that says this.

If you are worried about going to Family Dispute Resolution because you have experienced domestic and family violence, you should get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA and let the mediation service know.

If you have experienced domestic and family violence, you should not ignore an invitation to do Family Dispute Resolution, because a certificate can be issued that says you refused to go.

You should talk to the mediation service about the domestic and family violence and talk about what options you have.

See I have experienced domestic and family violence – do I have to go to Family Dispute Resolution?

If you have tried Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) and it didn’t work, you will be given a certificate that says this.

Get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA about the next steps to take.

• Relationships Australia – Share the Care – Parenting Plans
• Women’s Legal Services Tasmania – It’s All About the Kids
• Family Relationships Online – Family Mediation and Dispute Resolution
• Family Court of Australia – Compulsory Family Dispute Resolution

Videos

• Best for Kids– Using Mediation –  with subtitles in Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese
• Legal Aid Queensland – Family Dispute Resolution – Which Process is Right for You?

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