Mediation (Family Dispute Resolution/FDR)

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Experts say a child's wellbeing is determined by three things:

Their relationship with their mother. 

Their relationship with their father.

The co-parenting relationship between them.

In modern families, those traditional titles might not always apply, but the principle stands. 

When a child has more than one attachment figure, it matters to the child that those attachment figures get along with each other. The quality and functionality of your co-parenting relationship will make an enormous difference to your child's sense of safety, security and identity in the world - the basic building blocks of a happy life.

Any investment you make in your co-parenting relationship now, will have a profound impact on your child's lifelong emotional trajectory, determining their emotional adjustment, sense of self and quality of their relationships.

Our family mediation (FDR) package is designed to provide long-term benefits to you and your family. We don't just want to help you resolve the divorce and family law issues at hand. We want to help you build a positive co-parenting culture that lasts.

Our holistic approach will give you the tools and insights to achieve that.

Your life will be better for it. And your kids' childhoods will be enriched beyond measure.

Since 2006, the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) has required separated parents to make a genuine effort to resolve their co-parenting disputes at mediation before commencing proceedings at court.

A major catalyst for the reforms was research showing the significant detrimental impact that high conflict separation was having on the mental health of Australian children, and a tendency for the adversarial court system to exacerbate rather than resolve family relationship issues. 

Upon making a parenting-related application, parties to a dispute must now produce a "genuine effort" certificate (also known as a "60I certificate") to the court. This certificate can only be issued by a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP) accredited by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department. 

Families have the option of using a public or private Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) provider. Publicly funded Family Relationships Centres ("FRC's") are located in every Australian capital city and many major regional cities. 

Fambam is one of many private services across the country. Our mediation service is highly tailored to families' needs and can accommodate urgent matters. In appropriate circumstances, child-inclusive mediation is also available.

Our approach is task-oriented, child-centred and future-focused. It recognises that unresolved emotional issues and unique personality factors will come into play, especially if parties have not had the space to identify and consider these in a safe, constructive way. 

Our service places a strong emphasis on the pre-mediation process. Our package includes several 1:1 preparatory sessions where we work with each party to identify and consider the conscious and less-conscious factors they are bringing to the table, and how these might manifest in their day-to-day co-parenting. 

For the record, we LOVE our FDR program, and believe that the level of time, skill and attention-to-detail we provide places families in the best possible position to resolve their issues and improve their co-parenting relationship for the long-term.