Family Law Mediation is a specialised area of mediation dealing with family law matters such as child access arrangements, separation agreements, property settlements, wills and estate disputes, in fact any dispute involving families and separating families.
Mediators who are permitted to do this work must be registered with the Attorney General's Office and are called Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners (FDRP). You don't have to be a solicitor to be an FDRP but you do need to have a degree in law, psychology or social work and have completed a Graduate Diploma in Family Dispute Resolution, plus be an accredited mediator. The FDR graduate diploma includes units in Family Law so all practitioners have a working knowledge of family law requirements in Australia, but only those with a law degree can offer legal advice.
Mediation is voluntary, except for separating couples who cannot come to an agreement around their child access arrangements. The Family Law Act requires separating couples to attempt mediation if they cannot come to an amicable arrangement for their own child access arrangements. If the matter is not resolved in mediation the FDRP will issue the 60(I) Certificate that enables the couple to take their dispute to court. There are exemptions to this rule in extenuating circumstances involving domestic violence. It is important to note that we do not use the term Custody any more, we talk about access arrangements and time spent with each parent.
So a Family Law Mediator or Family Dispute Resolutions Practitioner is an impartial third party who is trained in a collaborative, supportive model of negotiation, whose role it is to inform and guild clients through the maze that is the Family Law Act and assists them in coming to a mutually acceptable agreement that each party can live with.
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Suite 5, 539 Highett Rd, Highett, VIC, 3190
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