Parenting Mediation

What is parenting mediation?

Parenting mediation offers you a chance to resolve disputes avoiding costly legal negotiation and without entering the courtroom. This informal yet structured process revolves around discussing your children's upbringing, care, and well-being. With skilled mediator guiding you, you'll uncover areas of disagreement, explore solutions, and move towards arrangements that work for both sides.

This method supports you to manage disputes practically and plan for future arrangements, focusing on effective communication and collaboration to ensure the best interests of the children involved. Your arrangements can cover various topics, from child logistics to decision-making, education, healthcare, and other aspects of parenting.

What are the benefits of Parenting Mediation?

  • Cost and Time Efficiency: it saves time and expense compared to writing legal letters back and forth or the lengthy and costly court process.

  • Child-Centred Approach: Your child's welfare stands as the priority in parenting mediation, encouraging choices that are centred on their needs and priorities.

  • Collaborative Decision-Making: Mediation is about joint efforts. You and the other parent collaborate, fostering transparent discussions and collective decisions, ultimately leading to agreements that suit you both find acceptable.

  • Flexible Solutions: Flexibility thrives in mediation – a chance for imaginative, tailored solutions that courtrooms might not permit.

  • Empowerment: Mediation empowers you to shape your child’s future, avoiding court-imposed decisions. It places you at the centre of the process, enabling you to make choices that work for your family's unique circumstances.

  • Reduced Conflict: Effective communication fostered by mediation can lead to reduced conflict between parents, creating a more stable environment for the children.

We have a date for court, is it too late for mediation?

Throughout your separation, Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) remains available as an option, even if legal proceedings are underway. If you reach an agreement through mediation, you can formalise it into official orders, bypassing the need for court involvement and maintaining decision-making control.

However, opting for court proceedings could result in mandatory mediation, intensifying costs, stress, and delays in the process.

We are here to support you to reach agreements that matter to you and your family, all while avoiding unnecessary court battles. Contact us to learn more.

Do I need a Certificate 60I?

Only if you're applying to Court. In line with the Family Law Act 1975, parents with children are obligated to genuinely attempt mediation, guided by a mediator who is a qualified Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP), before pursuing a Parenting Order in court, with the exception of certain urgent and/or safety circumstances.

As per Australian law, your initial step is to try reaching a parenting arrangement through mediation before considering legal proceedings. If mediation isn't successful or isn't appropriate, the FDRP can issue a Section 60I Certificate. This certificate enables the dispute to move forward into court proceedings.

While the law stipulates an effort in FDR, many achieve resolution without resorting to court or requiring a Certificate. All Assent Group mediators are highly skilled and registered with the Attorney General’s Department and can issue Certificates when suitable.