Family Dispute Resolution Mediation is a pre-court process whereby separating parents and carers engage in a well-meaningful discussion about the needs of their children. FDR allows

parents to develop a joint parenting agreement that takes the children's best interests into account.

FDR is a process that enables you to talk with the other party in a confidential and safe environment. It begins with a pre-mediation intake and assessment session that is private and confidential. This allows you to talk through the issues in dispute and explore ideas and suggestions for resolving those disputes. The FRDP (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner) will assess for risk and safety concerns during this session. From there, if mediation is considered appropriate to continue, a joint mediation session can occur. During this session, parties can safely discuss the issues in dispute and develop ideas, suggestions and proposals for future-focused outcomes.

The role of the FDRP is to facilitate a discussion between you and the other parent. The FDRP is there to help you focus on your children's needs so that you can make joint decisions about your children's future. The FDRP is impartial and unbiased and will not give an opinion or make a decision for you about a family dispute.

All FDRP's at Bendigo Mediation are accredited under the National Mediation Accreditation System (NMAS) and are registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners with the Australian Attorney Generals Department.

The FDRP will work with you to clarify the issues you wish to discuss and help you generate possible solutions. Some points may include:

o Living arrangements for the children as well as changeover arrangements.

o What arrangements may look life on special days for example birthdays, Christmas, mothers’/fathers' days etc

o Where the children will attend childcare, kindergarten and school o Any health and medical matters o Religious and cultural matters

o All other matters specific to the children's needs

During the mediation, everyone will have time to talk, consider suggestions, take a break, and talk individually to the FDRP before making final decisions.

The FDRP will write up the points of agreement. If signed by both parties, these agreements become a Parenting Plan. The Parenting Plan is not legally binding. However, you can take the parenting plan to a lawyer or apply to the Family Court directly to make this into a Consent Order, making the agreements legally binding.

Family Dispute Resolution can also assist other significant people such as grandparents and stepparents who would like to continue being a part of the child's lives after separation or family discord. The process of Family Dispute Resolution applies, and a s60i can be issued.

If you have experienced abuse or violence from your ex-partner, you may still choose to go through FDR, but it is imperative that you feel safe and are safe before, during and after mediation. Therefore, extra safety measures are put in place, such as online, shuttle or phone mediation. Part of the FDRP's role is to continually assess the appropriateness of mediation through ongoing risk and safety assessments starting with the pre-mediation intake session. The pre-mediation intake session is a confidential and private session with the mediator to assess all risk and safety issues, suitability and appropriateness of FDR.

After the pre-mediation intake session, it may be assessed that FDR is not suitable if the FDRP assesses that:

• you are unable to participate because of the violence, or

• that the mediation will subject you or your children to violence.

If this is the case, the FDRP can issue a s60i certificate stating that the matter is not appropriate for FDR, however, a pre-mediation intake session needs to occur to properly assess this.

Click on the link for more information on Mediation and family violence

If you do not want to participate in FDR, that is your decision and can be discussed with the FDRP. The FDRP can assist by answering any questions and talking through any concerns. If you do not want to participate, the FDRP is obliged to inform you of the following steps, such as issuing a s60i certificate to the initiating party. The s60i certificate can allow the other person to explore further legal options, such as applying to the Family Court.

The FDRP is also obliged to inform you that if you do not attend FDR or make a genuine effort to attend, this can influence the timing of your Court hearing. In addition, under the Family Law Act 1975 – Sect 117, there is the potential that the Court may also order you to pay the other party's legal costs.

Therefore, you will require legal advice.

Parties can choose to mediate wherever they like. However, if you have been invited to participate at a particular mediation service and do not want to use that service, it can still be deemed a refusal of FDR and a s60i can be issued. If a s60i is issued mediation can still occur at any time with any service.

It is important to highlight that the cost of mediation is a fraction of the cost of going to court and lawyer negotiation. The entire mediation cost is still less that the initiating application to the family court. A lawyer’s average hourly rate is $400 - $600. This quickly adds up in letters, emails, and calls to engage in negotiation with the other party. This money is better spent on quality legal advice on ways forward that help you prepare for mediation. If you are unable to afford the mediation, there are a couple of options to consider. You can either request that the other party pay for some or all of your costs. If you are mediating about property matters this could later be addressed in the division of assets, and costs can be repaid to the other party as part of the settlement process. It is important to note that the nonparticipation in FDR due to costs is still classed as a refusal and a s60i may be issued to the other party if requested. Every effort must be made, and other options considered to attend a mediation. Mediation not only saves you money on lawyers and court, but it also saves you the time, emotional stress, and burden that drawn-out lawyer negotiation and court processes will cause.

A support person may be allowed if all participants agree. Everyone including the mediator must all agree on who will be in the room and terms and conditions stated clearly. Click on the following link for more information on support people