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Family Dispute Resolution

The Family Law Act requires that, in most cases, before a person makes an application to the court for a parenting order, they must attend family dispute resolution. The Legal Services Commission provides one type of family dispute resolution where the parties may be legally assisted. This is known as Family Law Conferencing.

What is Family Law Conferencing?

A Family Law Conference at the FDR Unit is a safe, cooperative, confidential and independent dispute resolution process which assists families reach arrangements about children or property following the end of a relationship through the assistance of an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (called a ‘Chairperson’). Chairpersons are neutral, highly trained, experienced and have a background in family law.

Family Law Conferencing is often a quicker and less stressful way to resolve issues without having to go to Court.  The FDR Unit has a high success rate in assisting families reach agreements by way of Family Law Conferencing. Conferencing at the Legal Services Commission is different to other Family Dispute Resolution services in the community because parties are able to attend the Conference facilitated by the Chairperson with their lawyers. 

Issues dealt with at a Conference

Family Law Conferences at the FDR Unit deal with disputes relating to both parenting issues and property settlement following separation.

For instance, common issues raised at a Conference regarding parenting issues include where children will live after separation, how much time children spend with each parent, and how parents communicate with each other.

The FDR Unit also holds Conferences where there is a dispute in relation to property settlement matters. The process allows parties who are eligible for legal aid to discuss and negotiate how the asset pool should be divided after separation. For more information about property settlement FDR, see our Property Dispute Resolution Conferencing Brochure.

The FDR Unit deals with issues such as adult child maintenance and Child Support.

The FDR Unit can also host Conferences for parties who have a grant of Legal Aid and the family law matter is already at Court. The Adelaide Registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia refers matters to the Legal Services FDR Unit to hold a Family Law Conference in an effort to try to resolve issues and reduce parties’ time in the Court system.

Parties involved in a Conference

Conferencing can involve the children's parents, grandparents, other extended family or anyone who has a connection with the children and their welfare. Parties involved in a Conference can be legally represented. An Independent Children's Lawyer can also attend a Conference (if one has been appointed by the Court). 

Legal Representation

To be eligible for Conferencing, at least one of the parties involved in the dispute must have a current grant of Legal Aid for FDR.  Any person applying for Legal Aid has to satisfy the means (income and assets) and merits tests and the guidelines.

It is not compulsory for the other party to have a lawyer at a Conference. The other party can be represented by a Legal Aid lawyer (if they qualify), a private lawyer or attend self-represented. 

Cost of attending a Conference

If a party has a grant of Legal Aid then they will have to pay a small contribution towards their legal fees. The amount depends on their financial circumstances.

If the party has Legal Aid and they own real estate and the legal fees exceed the Legal Aid limit, then the Commission can register a charge over the property (statutory charge) and require repayment of the amount of legal costs when the property is sold or if the person refinances.

If a party does not have Legal Aid they will have to pay their own solicitor costs to attend the Conference.

Matters suitable to Conference

Once one party has Legal Aid for a Conference, the legislation requires the FDR Unit to screen and assess suitability for Conferencing. The FDR Unit will assess if a matter is appropriate for Conferencing by ensuring it is safe to participate. As the FDR Unit ensures the security of all parties, it is still possible to hold a Conference when there are issues such as family violence (for instance, if an Intervention Order is in place), drug use or mental health concerns, provided it is assessed as safe to do so. The FDR Organiser will ask you to provide documents such as Bail Agreements, existing Court Orders or Intervention Orders to help them make their assessment. The FDR Unit will advise if a matter is not considered appropriate for a Conference. 

How and when is a Conference organised?

The FDR Organiser will contact you and your lawyer (if you have one) and the other party and their lawyer (if they have one) to make the arrangements for a date suitable for everyone involved once the matter it is assessed as appropriate to proceed to a Conference. 

Conferences are held 5 days a week for 3 hours over 2 sessions per day either at 9:30am - 12:30pm or 1:30pm - 4:30pm.  A Review Conference will be organised for 2 hours. 

The FDR Unit has many Conferences to organise. It may take to 6-8 weeks to have a Conference organised once it is assessed as suitable.  

What types of Conferences are organised?

The FDR Unit holds Family Dispute Resolution Conferences in person, via telephone, or, in some cases, online (via Microsoft Teams). The FDR Unit will confirm what type of Conference will be held when it is arranged. For information about attending a conference via telephone, please read our Family Law Telephone Conferences Factsheet.

If the Conference is held in person, most Conferences are conducted by ‘shuttle’, where parties are in separate rooms and the Chairperson speaks with each party separately. Parties are asked to come to a Conference using separate entrances. 

If the Conference is by phone, the Chairperson will call the parties or their lawyers separately.

If the Conference is held online, a link for MS Teams will be provided to the parties' lawyers and the Chairperson will speak to the parties online in separate virtual rooms.

If you have a lawyer, you don't need to bring anyone else to a Conference. However, if you have concerns about your safety and wellbeing at a Conference, in addition to your lawyer, you may have one other support person attend with you, such as a family member, close friend or other support worker. For more information, please refer to our Support Persons in FDR brochure.

What happens at a Conference?

At a Conference, the Chairperson will speak with the parties separately. The Chairperson ensures both parties understand the obligations of participating in Conferencing at the Legal Services Commission, such as confidentiality. The Chairperson will then facilitate a discussion about the issues at hand with the lawyers (if you have one) and the parties.  

During a Conference, if parties can’t reach agreement, the Chairperson will discuss the next steps, including what may be involved in proceeding to Court.

In some cases, a Review Conference can be scheduled in the future to review how any agreed arrangements are working.

If an agreement is reached at the Conference, it will be recorded in writing by a lawyer in a Heads of Agreement or Draft Minutes of Consent Order and a signed copy provided to all parties at the end of the Conference. 

The FDR Unit is not able to provide legal advice or disclose information about the other party.