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In the majority of cases, Part VII of The Family Law Act 1975 requires parties attempt to resolve disputes before applying to court for Parenting Orders. This is achieved through Family Dispute Resolution and obtaining a Section 60I certificate before being able to file a court application for an order in relation to a child. Under Section 60I(9) of The Family Law Act, there are, however, a number of exceptions to requiring a Section 60I Certificate, including:
The suitability of mediation in your particular case is an ongoing suitability assessment. Your mediator will continuously assess that mediation is the most suitable approach for you throughout the entirety of your process with us. Our mediators are bound both legally and ethically to ensure mediation is suitable for you and your family. Specifically, Regulation 25 of the Family Law (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners) Regulations 2008, states
“In determining whether family dispute resolution is appropriate, the family dispute resolution practitioner must be satisfied that consideration has been given to whether the ability of any party to negotiate freely in the dispute is affected by any of the following matters:
(a) a history of family violence (if any) among the parties;
(b) the likely safety of the parties;
(c) the equality of bargaining power among the parties;
(d) the risk that a child may suffer abuse;
(e) the emotional, psychological and physical health of the parties;
(f) any other matter that the family dispute resolution practitioner considers relevant to the proposed family dispute resolution.
Once mediation is assessed as suitable in your case, we then determine what type of mediation is most appropriate. We are able to offer a variety of forms of mediation from joint session (all parties are in the same room) to shuttle mediation (you and your ex partner are in separate rooms and your mediator moves between the rooms). While the ultimate decisions rests with the mediator, your comfort and preferences hold great weight with us as we understand that the more comfortable you are, the more outcomes will be reached.
We understand that finding the time for appointments can be difficult and coming face to face with your ex-partner may not feel like the most comfortable approach for you. As such, we offer FDR appointments and CIP feedbacks via phone and/or online. Actual child consultations need to be in office.
This is something to discuss with your practitioner at your initial individual appointment. We want you to feel supported throughout the process and can discuss the suitability of a support person in your particular case. As per our Support Person Policy, the presence of a support person needs to be consented to by all parties involved and discussed prior to that person's presence involvement.
In our role as mediators, we can provide legal information, however cannot provide legal advice. It is therefore beneficial to seek independent legal advice before entering into a decision-making process. We are able to facilitate mediations both with or without lawyers present and is something that can be discussed with your practitioner at your initial individual appointment. In the event that you opt NOT to have a legally-assisted mediation, you are still able to contact your solicitor privately during the mediation.
This very much depends on how many issues need resolving and how far apart the parties are with regard to these issues. In our experience, and on average, parenting issues require 1-2 sessions, while financial issues require a minimum of 2 sessions.
All mediated agreements are known as "good faith agreements" and are not legally binding. However, steps can be taken outside of mediation to have your agreement made into Consent Orders which are legally binding. This process is a lot quicker and cost-effective ad is also highly encourage by the family law system.
We make every attempt to engage your ex partner in the mediation process. However, ultimately it is up to him/her to decided whether or not to participate. In the event that your ex-partner chooses not to engage, we are able to issue you with a s60I certificate which will note that your ex-partner declined to engage in the process.
Many clients initially assume that mediation only "works" if they conclude the process with full agreement on all issues. While we aim to achieve this goal, sometimes mediation is about resolving only some issues, narrowing conflicted issues and/or having open discussions to better understand each other and the situation. However, if you feel you need to pursue your matter further, we are able to provide a section 60I certificate to allow you to start court proceedings.
Child Consultation is an opportunity for parents to better understand their children’s experiencing living in a separated family. Children are seen by one of our experienced Child Consultants in a therapeutic setting and given the opportunity to discuss their experiences. The Child Consultant then provides feedback to parents, based on the meeting with the children. This feedback aims to provide parents with insight and recommendations to support their children.
Child Consultation is NOT a compulsory process and requires both parents’ consent to proceed. While not being compulsory however, children and parents have found it to be an immensely helpful process. Further, Family Law places great emphasis, where appropriate, on giving children the opportunity to express their views and be heard.
Child Consultation will not always be suitable in all cases. The ultimate decision as to whether or not Child Consultation proceeds rests with your Mediator and Child Consultant. While we aim to offer the service in the majority of clients, we need to ensure that the process is suitable in your particular case. In the event that Child Consultation cannot proceed, your mediation process will most likely still continue.
General consensus is that children from the age of 5 years and up can participate in this process. Activities will always be tailored to your particular child's age, developmental stage and needs. In exceptional circumstances, and where there are older siblings participating, preschool age children may participate in the Child Consultation process, provided the child is enrolled in preschool, is and able to separate from his/her parent and can follow instruction.
This decision is left entirely up to the parents. Sometimes scheduling and availability inadvertently determines who brings the child to his/her appointment. Rest assured however, that no parent is permitted into the actual session with the child.
Your allocated child consultant will advise how to best prepare your child prior to the session so there will be an indication of your child's willingness to participate prior to his/her session. We never force any child to participate. However, we do create a very comfortable and therapeutic setting which helps children feel at ease with us. Many children find great comfort in the process. In the very unlikely event that your child still refuses participation, we can provide general feedback regarding what might be happening for your child and how to best assist them.
Except for safety concerns, your child has the right to confidentiality. We will therefore only discuss relevant information with you that your child has consented to us sharing. If we believe there is useful information that your child has not given us permission to share, we will be able to feed back this information in general terms without breaching confidentiality.
Your child will not be asked direct questions or placed in a decision-making role; the decisions are left up to you as parents! Rather, age-appropriate activities and/or discussion will be offered to your child in a therapeutic setting.
While our practitioners prepare a written report in preparation for the feedback session, this report is not made available to any parties or professionals. Our reports are also protected by confidentiality and inadmissibility, as is established by Sections 10D, 10H, 10E & 10J of the Family Law Act.
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