FAMILY MEDIATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Family mediation with Untying the Knot includes an intake session with your family law mediator which can be up to one hour, which is done as a separate session from your former partner. 

Your meetings with your family mediator and former partner usually go for about 3 to 4 hours per session. 

A family law mediator can help make important decisions about the future of your family. 

They can help you make an agreement about custody and parenting matters and work towards a family law property settlement. 

Most importantly, it makes sure that you do not have to go to the Family Court.

Mediation is a process to help you reach a family law agreement with a neutral professional mediator who facilitates settlement negotiations. 

Parents work through custody and parenting arrangements as well as property settlement with family law mediators.

You can attend family dispute resolution or custody mediation without a lawyer but it is a good idea to have family law legal advice.  We include that option in our fixed fee packages.

Family law property settlement needs specialist family law advice so we include advice from a specialist family lawyer with all our fixed fee family mediation packages for property settlement.

It is important to be properly prepared for your family mediation to make sure that you get the best out of your session. 

Before you get family law advice from your family law specialist, think about what are the important issues that you want to discuss. 

Make a list of them and talk to your family lawyer to makes sure all your questions are answered.

We’ve also set out some practical tips to prepare for mediation.

In Australia you cannot go to the Family Court unless you have attempted family dispute resolution (family mediation). 

There are some exceptions if safety to you or your children is an issue. 

Family mediation is not compulsory for property settlement matters, but is a good way to avoid the Family Court,  which should always be a last resort.

Yes!  We have family mediators in Sydney as well as Brisbane and Melbourne.

Our Brisbane family law mediators use our purpose designed family mediation rooms in the Brisbane CBD.  

They are secure and safe and accessible to public transport and parking.

Yes! 

Our advanced video technology enables us to conduct a family mediation anywhere in Australia.

We can also use video mediation if you don’t feel safe being at mediation with your former partner.

Contact us to discuss your options.

If the other parent won’t come to family mediation or family dispute resolution, then your family mediator can issue a Section 60I certificate. Once this certificate is issued, then you can file this certificate with the Family Court and seek family law orders about custody, access and parenting.
Family dispute resolution is compulsory, unless a matter is urgent or there are safety factors such as abuse, family violence or domestic violence, which mean that mediation would not be appropriate.

In Australia, family relationships centres or some community services such as Relationships Australia and Centacare provide free family mediation.
The waiting lists can be long, so often people choose to attend private mediation.
We can provide you with mediation in most cases within a week of the other party agreeing to attend mediation.
Contact us to make an inquiry to start your family mediation process.

Before your mediation, your family law mediator will speak with both parents to find out what the main custody and access issues are between you, and listen to your concerns.
You then attend a family mediation session together, but can be in separate rooms if your family mediator, after discussing with you, considers that to be the most appropriate.
Your family mediator will help you and the other parent talk about your concerns for your children, and negotiate a parenting plan. That parenting plan can be made into custody orders to be lodged in the Family Court by your family lawyers.

Mediation can bring an end to the court process if everything is agreed.

But even if not everything is agreed, some things can be agreed which narrows the  issues in dispute meaning less to argue about so a shorter hearing.

Mediation in person can be done  in separate rooms (shuttle mediation).

Online mediation using our sophisticated video technology, enables us to have a video mediation room together or break into separate ‘rooms’.

This is a great option for our rural and remote clients and avoids having to hang up a call and phone the other which can cause frustration and delay. This way we can easily go back and forth between the parties as needed.

Child focused mediation is practised by most family dispute resolution practitioners and family mediators.  Essentially, it means that the mediation is focused on the needs and best interests of your children rather than the rights and the entitlements of the parents.

Child inclusive mediation is a very different process.  In child inclusive mediation, a child consultant is engaged to meet with your children and speak to them about how your separation or divorce is impacting on them.  Children are not brought into your mediation sessions.  Rather, they meet with the child consultant independently who speaks with them.  For appropriately aged children, the child consultant might speak to them about any views they have regarding custody or parenting moving forward.

The child consultant then provides feedback in your family mediation or family dispute resolution session with your mediator.  This is to assist you and the other parent to negotiate a parenting plan or custody orders which best meet the needs of your children moving forward.

Untying the Knot can include a child consultant in a child inclusive mediation or family dispute resolution as part of your fixed fee package.  Contact us to discuss whether a child focused mediation or a child inclusive mediation is most appropriate for your family.