Family Dispute Resolution and Mediation

Once you’ve made the decision to separate, it can be confusing and overwhelming to know what to do next. We welcome you to contact Relationships Australia NSW to help guide you through this process, and put you in contact with the services that you may need. We can help you determine the approach that’s most suitable for your unique situation. We also encourage all clients to seek their own legal advice.

If you are separating and have children, and your former partner refuses or fails to participate in the FDR process, our FDR Practitioner may issue you with a 60I Certificate. This enables you to apply to the Court for parenting orders. If you are separating and do not have children, and your case involves only property or financial matters, we recommend that you seek legal advice if the other party does not wish to participate in FDR. There are other reasons why an FDR Practitioner might issue a 60I Certificate. This includes if the Practitioner determines FDR is not appropriate for everyone involved at this point in time, or to confirm that everyone attended FDR and made a genuine effort but were unable to reach a full agreement on all parenting issues.

The first session with your FDR Practitioner is called a Pre-mediation assessment. This is an individual session between yourself and your assigned practitioner for 1.5 hours. The purpose of this session is to determine whether Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) is appropriate for your situation, and whether it is likely to achieve the outcomes each party want. We’ll consider the parties involved, the issues you present, and the proposed timing of FDR.

In some cases it can be agreed by both the FDR Practitioner (mediator) and the other party for other people to be present during mediation sessions including lawyers or support persons, however, this needs to be discussed and negotiated ahead of time. Please talk to your Family Advisor or FDR Practitioner if you would like to consider these options.

After you make an enquiry about mediation, our staff will conduct a screening process. This is to find out more about you, your ex-partner, and how safe your situation is. If mediation isn’t suitable or safe for you, we can provide you with a Section 60I certificate. We can also refer you to other services that can provide you with support, such as counselling, behaviour change programs, and domestic violence support groups.

If you have any feedback or would like to make a complaint about our FDR service, we encourage you to speak directly with your Practitioner in the first instance. If they’re unable to resolve your concerns or you don’t feel comfortable raising the issue with them, they can refer you to a Team Leader. The Team Leader will manage your complaint internally via the process outlined in the information pack you received from your FDR Practitioner when you first engaged with the service. If we’re unable to resolve your complaint internally or, if you prefer, you can use the Australian Attorney-General’s Department complaints process. To make a complaint with the Attorney-General’s Department, you can lodge your complaint online or use the channels below: Email: flscomplaints@ag.gov.au Phone: 02 6141 6666 Post: Family Law Services Section Attorney-General’s Department Robert Garran Offices 3–5 National Circuit Barton ACT 2600