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Compulsory Dispute Resolution in Parenting Matters

Family Law, Divorce Lawyer, Property Settlement, Child Custody, Defacto Law

It is now compulsory in most cases for parents to attend dispute resolution prior to commencing parenting proceedings in the Court. Where the parties cannot agree on arrangements for their children, either party can contact an accredited dispute resolution practitioner (“ADR practitioner”), who is a government accredited psychologist or social worker, to arrange an initial dispute resolution session for the parties.

The parties are required to attend as many sessions as required by the ADR practitioner. If agreement is not reached, the ADR practitioner can issue one of five kinds of certificates:

• That the person did not attend the family dispute resolution but it was because of the refusal or failure of the other party to the proceedings to attend
• That the person did not attend the family dispute resolution but the practitioner considers that it would not be appropriate, in any event, to conduct family dispute resolution
• That the person attended family dispute resolution with the other party and both made a genuine effort to resolve the issues
• That the parties attended family dispute resolution but the person or the other party did not make a genuine effort to resolve the issues
• That the parties commenced attending family dispute resolution but the practitioner formed the view that it would not be appropriate to continue family dispute resolution.

Once you have one of the above certificates, you can file a parenting application in the Court if the dispute resolution procedure has been unsuccessful.

There are exceptions. No certificate is required where an Order is sought by consent, where there has been abuse of a child or any risk of abuse, or where there is family violence. A certificate is also not required where the application is made in circumstances of urgency or where an existing Order made within the last twelve months has been contravened.