Family Mediation (or Family Dispute Resolution) is a structured process where a trained, neutral mediator helps you and your ex-partner reach agreements about parenting, property, or other family matters – without going to court.
If the issue involves parenting, your mediator must be a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP) in order to issue a certificate if needed for Family Court.
Yes, for parenting matters it is usually required by law to attempt mediation before applying to the Family Court.
You’ll need a certificate from a registered FDRP to launch court paperwork. For property matters, it’s not legally required – but courts do expect you to have tried to resolve things. There are situations where you are able to go to court without mediation – ask your lawyer about what these exceptions are.
Each person starts with a 1-hour private intake session to share their story, discuss safety or logistics, and assess whether mediation is appropriate.
Then, if suitable, we book a joint mediation session – either in-person, via Zoom, and/or using shuttle mediation (in separate rooms). Sessions without lawyers are typically 3 hours long. Mediation with lawyers is half a day or a full day.
Yes, you can bring a support person to the intake session. For the joint mediation session, only legal or professional representatives are allowed unless otherwise agreed. Your support person is there to listen and take notes – not to speak on your behalf.
Please tell us in your intake session. Your safety is our priority. We can do shuttle mediation, online sessions, or find other ways to make sure you feel emotionally and physically safe. And it might be that mediation is not suitable which we can determine after hearing your story.
If no agreement is reached in parenting matters, your mediator can issue a certificate so you can apply to Family Court.
Even if court proceedings begin, you can still return to mediation at any time. Many people find success in late-intervention mediation – even right before trial.
Yes, absolutely. What’s said in mediation stays in mediation. We do not share notes or reports. Only your final agreement (if you reach one) is documented and shared with both parties.
Each person usually pays for their own intake session and their half of the joint mediation session, unless other arrangements are made. Payment doesn’t affect power in the session – our mediators remain neutral and fair throughout even when one party pays for fees or both participants.
We will help type up the agreement (either as a parenting plan or head of agreement for property). And we will email this out to you both. In the mediation session the mediator will ask you both what you want to do with this agreement. It is important you both know what will happen after the session so you do not get in conflict about it. You can choose to lodge your agreements as a consent order with the Family Court. Ask us about this in your intake session.
efore we start mediation sessions, it is important to us at Life Mediation that you understand the mediation process and how it works. Please read through our below FAQs. If you aren’t sure if mediation is right for your workplace, please contact us with any questions that are not answered here and we will answer your questions in a timely manner.
A. Mediation is a problem solving and decision making process, where a neutral professional (the Mediator), assists the parties in conflict to discuss and make agreements that allows everyone to move forward. The aim is to come to a resolution that which meet the needs of all the parties involved. The number of participants who are involved in the mediation process can range from two people to a larger group.
The Mediation process will normally commence with a one-to-one preliminary discussion with each party, after which each party can then prepare for the joint discussion that will be facilitated by the mediator.
A. The issue of confidentiality is discussed and agreed on prior to commencing any of Life Mediations processes. In some situations, a representative from HR or a senior manager may be provided with general information indicating that the mediation process has taken place plus the agreements that are reached might be shared. Whatever the case may be, the sharing of information will be transparent and made known and agreed upon by all participants in advance of any substantive discussions.
A. The role of the Mediator is to support and guide the parties through a process of having their perspectives heard and understood by the other parties involved, to generate options to resolve the issues, and facilitate discussion to see if the parties involved can reach agreements to be able to move forward which satisfy the needs of each party.
Mediators from Life Meditation do not:
A. In every conflict situation there are risks to the business as well as hidden costs involved. There is the time spend dealing with conflict instead of working and a loss of productivity in the workplace. There is also the potential risk for mental health issues to arise such as anxiety and depression.
Unresolved conflict often results in:
Organisations are also subject to employment laws meaning that they have a duty of care to effectively manage conflict in the workplace where it may be impacting people or performance. Pretending the issue doesn’t exist will not make it go away. More than likely it will become more entrenched, harmful to the individuals involved and, more often than not, detrimental to those who witness it take place.
A. Introducing a skilled mediator to help facilitate the dialogue between parties in conflict has been shown to greatly assist the parties themselves to understand their own needs, the other party’s needs, and to have a deeper understanding of the issues at hand. The Mediator will encourage each party to think about what opportunities they personally have to resolve the issues at hand and how they can make changes to the situation. Importantly, these processes allow the parties the freedom to make their own decisions about a particular issue as opposed to having decisions imposed by others. There is space for productive conversations to take place and for people to reach agreements they can both live with. In the mediation process people have the opportunity to be heard which makes a big difference.
The benefit of a mediation process for employers is that the issues can be addressed quickly, in a confidential setting. Mediation is cost effective, in comparison to potential lengthy and expensive legal action.
A. We provide training and coaching to individuals who are experiencing challenges within their own working relationships, and also to supervisors, managers, executives and HR professionals who are tasked with managing a team that is experiencing conflict and have poor communication.
Our programs ensure that participants come away with practical tools and strategies that they can use straight away in the workplace. Click HERE to find out more about the training and workshops we offer. Please contact us to discuss how we can assist you or complete our online application form and we will contact you to work out the best way forward for your workplace.
A. There are three stages to Workplace Mediation:
A. You can review our Workplace Mediation costs here.
