Children & Parenting
9. Family Dispute Resolution
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 30 Jun 2015
- Before your case can go to court you must participate in Family Dispute Resolution. This generally means a special form of mediation. You are encouraged to work with counsellors, support services and specially trained Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners (mediators) to try and resolve the issues without the need to go to court.
- Either parent can make an appointment with an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner and start the mediation process. The mediator will contact the other parent and make all the necessary arrangements.
- The mediator will carry out a separate intake assessment interview with each of you to determine whether your matter is suitable for mediation. If your dispute is found to be unsuitable you will be given a certificate that will allow you to go to court.
- If one of the parties refuses to take part in the mediation then the parent who made contact with the Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner will be given a certificate stating this.
- You should take an invitation to participate in mediation seriously because a certificate that states you refused to make a genuine effort to resolve the issues in dispute could have cost consequences for you if your case goes to court. It is likely that the court will order you to attend mediation before they will hear your case anyway so a refusal to participate when invited will only waste time unless you have a very good reason for your refusal.
- In some cases your Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner will require you to attend a parenting program. You and your ex-partner will each attend the same program but on different days. These programs are designed to help separated parents understand how their conflict might be affecting their children, how to talk to children about separation and divorce and the kinds of things a parent should think about when preparing for a mediation that puts their children’s best interests first.
- Mediation is an opportunity for both parents to share their feelings, ideas and hopes about their future parenting with the other parent. The mediator will help you listen to each other and to consider the options that you each propose. The mediator is required to stay neutral. They will not take sides or judge who is right and who is wrong. However they will tell you if they believe you are not focussing on the best interests of your children.
- This is not what the mediator believes to be your children’s best interests but what the law says. Under the law every child has a right to have a meaningful relationship with both parents and every child has a right to be safe. The issue of safety is the most important and will be prioritised above anything else including the right to a meaningful relationship. There are a lot of other factors, rights and responsibilities to be considered but these are the primary ones.
- The mediator’s job is to ensure you both get an opportunity to express your views and help you to come to an agreement without needing to go to court.
- If you do not want to be in the same room as your ex-partner because you do not think you can speak freely in front of them the mediation will conduct what is called a shuttle mediation. This means that you and your ex-partner will be in different rooms and the mediator will go back and forth carrying messages between you.
- Everything that is said in the mediation is confidential and cannot be used for or against you in evidence if you fail to agree and your case ends up in court.
- Mediation is a lot quicker and less expensive than arguing in court. It also has the advantage that you and your ex-partner are making your own decisions about the future of your family rather than having a judge tell you what you have to do.
- The court requires a certificate from a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner as proof that you have engaged in this mediation process or that your matter has been assessed as unsuitable for mediation. You need this before you can file your claim at court.
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