Family Law Act Requirements
Family Dispute Resolution is a specialist mediation which is tailored to meet the needs of separating families. We help them reach agreement about the future living and care arrangements for their children, and in relation to property issues. It is commonly known as ‘FDR’ and our two Mediators, Laura and Jillaine, are accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners (FDRPs).
People who have a dispute about parenting arrangements, in particular, are required by the Family Law Act to make a genuine effort to resolve the dispute through mediation prior to commencing Court proceedings. If they attend FDR, a Certificate under the Family Law Act can be issued, allowing them to commence proceedings. This is commonly known as “a Section 60I Certificate” and can ONLY be issued by an accredited FDRP.
There are a few exceptions to the requirement to attend FDR, such as cases involving family violence, child abuse or urgency. If parties don’t fall under one of the exceptions, the Court will require them to provide a Section 60I Certificate from a registered FDRP at the time of lodging their Court documents.
Family Dispute Resolution is a completely confidential process, however there are some limited exceptions to that confidentially which we are obliged to report such as a threat to a person’s life, child abuse or criminal activity.
Your mediator is neutral and is not there to take sides or to make a decision.
We facilitate discussions between the parties and we attempt to generate options which will help everyone best move forward.
If parties are able to resolve their matter and reach agreement, this can be formalised into Consent Orders or a Parenting Plan. We can provide you with more information on options as you move through the mediation journey.
If parties attend mediation but cannot to resolve their matter, a Section 60I Certificate can be issued allowing either party to commence Court proceedings to obtain further assistance.
Parties also use mediation to resolve property matters, either jointly with or separate to their parenting matters. Whilst mediation is technically not compulsory in property matters prior to commencing proceedings, the Family Court certainly requires all litigants to have made a genuine attempt at settling prior to going to Court. A Genuine Steps Certificate needs to be filed with your Court documents, which asks you to confirm your attempts to settle. Participation in mediation allows you to confirm that requirement.
More importantly, reaching agreement at mediation allows parties to retain control over the process and the eventual outcome, something that is lost when a Judge is making decisions for you. Mediation is also far quicker and cheaper than litigation.
For more information on Compulsory Family Dispute Resolution see http://www.familycourt.
