How Family Dispute Resolution Works

How Family Dispute Resolution Works

A plain-English walkthrough of the FDR process – from pre-mediation to agreement, including Section 60i Certificates and what happens if you don’t reach agreement.

What is Family Dispute Resolution?

Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) is a structured form of mediation for separating and separated families. It is delivered under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and the Family Law (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners) Regulations 2025, by Accredited FDR Practitioners.

FDR helps participants make decisions about parenting arrangements (where children live, how time is shared, school, health, big-picture parenting choices) and property and financial matters (how to divide the asset pool, super, debts). It is voluntary, confidential, and designed to be safer, faster and cheaper than going to court.

At Interact Online your mediation is facilitated by an Accredited FDR Practitioner with an intern co-facilitating. Both are bound by the same statutory confidentiality and inadmissibility rules, and your FDR Practitioner has overall responsibility for the process. If a Section 60i Certificate is needed it is issued by the Accredited FDR Practitioner.

The FDR process at a glance

FDR happens in two parts:

  1. Pre-mediation sessions – held separately with each participant. The FDR Practitioner gets to understand your situation, checks the matter is suitable for FDR, assesses safety, and helps you prepare.
  2. Joint mediation – participants come together (in person, online or by shuttle) to work through the issues in a structured eight-stage process and reach decisions together.
The FDR process at Interact Online A diagram showing pre-mediation sessions held separately with each participant, then the joint mediation as an eight-stage process: mediator’s opening statements, each person’s opening statement, setting the agenda, talking it through and finding options, private conversations, working out the details, writing it down, and wrapping up. The process ends with a written agreement if one is reached, or a Section 60i Certificate if the matter is suitable for one. PRE-MEDIATION SESSIONS Separate, confidential sessions with each participant. Suitability and safety assessment, preparation for the joint session. If FDR isn’t appropriate, a Section 60i Certificate may be issued at this point. JOINT MEDIATION (8 STAGES) 1. Mediator’s opening statements Your FDR Practitioner sets the tone, explains the process, the role of the intern, confidentiality and the ground rules. You confirm you’re ready to begin. 2. Each person’s opening statement Each participant has the chance to say what brings them to mediation, what matters to them, and what they’re hoping to work out. 3. Setting the agenda The FDR Practitioner helps you agree which issues to talk about and in what order – framing them in neutral, mutual language. 4. Talking it through and finding options You discuss each issue in turn. The FDR Practitioner helps you explain what you need, hear each other, and generate possible options. 5. Private conversations (if useful) If helpful, the FDR Practitioner may speak with each participant privately – checking in on progress, options, fairness and safety. 6. Working out the details You narrow the options and negotiate towards an agreement that works in practice – including what happens if circumstances change. 7. Writing it down If you reach agreement, the FDR Practitioner helps you write it down in clear, specific terms (who, what, when, where, how) so it’s workable later. 8. Wrapping up The FDR Practitioner confirms what was agreed, explains how to formalise it (Parenting Plan / Consent Orders), and answers your questions. OUTCOME A written agreement (Parenting Plan or Consent Orders for binding force) or, where appropriate, a Section 60i Certificate.

Pre-mediation in detail

Pre-mediation is a separate, confidential session with the FDR Practitioner. Each participant has their own pre-mediation session – you do not meet your co-participant during this phase. A typical pre-mediation session takes around 1.5 hours.

Pre-mediation has four main purposes:

  • Understanding your situation. The FDR Practitioner asks about the relationship, the separation, the issues you want to work out, your children (if applicable), and your priorities.
  • Assessing suitability. The FDR Practitioner considers whether FDR is appropriate for your matter. Some matters – including those involving serious family violence, child abuse, or where one party can’t take part – aren’t suitable for FDR. If your matter isn’t suitable, a Section 60i Certificate can be issued at this stage.
  • Safety screening. A structured assessment of safety, family violence history and any other risk factors. This shapes whether the joint mediation runs face-to-face, by shuttle (you don’t speak directly with the other participant), or doesn’t proceed.
  • Preparation. The FDR Practitioner explains the process, the role of the intern, the confidentiality rules and exceptions, and helps you start thinking about what you’d like to raise in the joint session.

Both pre-mediations happen before the FDR Practitioner makes a final decision about whether to proceed. If both matters are suitable and both participants want to continue, a joint mediation is scheduled.

The joint mediation in detail

The joint mediation is where you and the other participant work together with the FDR Practitioner to make decisions. Joint mediations typically run for three hours, with a four-hour shuttle option where participants are kept separate. You stay in control of the decisions – the FDR Practitioner facilitates the conversation but does not decide for you.

Confidentiality and inadmissibility

What is said in joint mediation is covered by sections 10H (confidentiality) and 10J (inadmissibility) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Anything you say or admissions you make in FDR cannot be used as evidence in court, and options or proposals discussed but not agreed are not binding. There are limited statutory exceptions – including mandatory reporting where a child is at risk, duty of care where someone is at risk of serious harm, certain criminal matters, requests from an Independent Children’s Lawyer, and what’s needed to issue a Section 60i Certificate. Your FDR Practitioner explains these in pre-mediation and again at the start of the joint session.

Parenting matters

For parenting matters, decisions need to be made in the best interests of the child – Section 60CC of the Family Law Act sets out what that means. Your FDR Practitioner helps you think through the relevant considerations: the child’s safety, the child’s views (taking into account their age and maturity), the child’s relationships and culture, and the practical realities of any arrangement. Children are not normally present in the joint session; their voice is brought in through the parents and, where useful, with the help of a child consultant or child-inclusive mediation specialist.

Property and financial matters

For property settlement FDR, the focus is on agreeing how the asset pool is divided. Full and frank financial disclosure is a precondition: both participants need a clear, shared picture of assets, debts, super and income before useful negotiation can happen. Your FDR Practitioner helps you organise that information in pre-mediation. We strongly recommend independent legal advice for property matters – lawyers can help you understand the range of likely outcomes if your matter went to court, and whether a proposed split sits within that range.

Section 60i Certificates

For parenting matters, the Family Law Act generally requires you to make a genuine effort at FDR before applying to court. A Section 60i Certificate is the document the Family Court relies on to confirm that genuine effort has been made – or that FDR wasn’t appropriate in your circumstances.

An Accredited FDR Practitioner can issue one of five types of Section 60i Certificate:

  • (s60I(8)(a)) – the other party did not attend FDR.
  • (s60I(8)(aa)) – FDR was attempted, all participants made a genuine effort, but no agreement was reached.
  • (s60I(8)(b)) – FDR was attempted but one or more participants did not make a genuine effort.
  • (s60I(8)(c)) – the FDR Practitioner decided FDR was not appropriate (for example, due to safety concerns).
  • (s60I(8)(d)) – FDR began but the FDR Practitioner decided it was not appropriate to continue.

There are exemptions to the Section 60i requirement – including matters involving family violence, child abuse, urgency, or where one party is unable to take part. Your lawyer or the court can advise whether an exemption applies to your situation.

What happens if you reach agreement

If you reach agreement during FDR you have three options for how to formalise it:

  • A written record – useful for keeping everyone on the same page about what was agreed. Not legally binding but can be referred to if things become unclear later.
  • A Parenting Plan – a signed and dated written agreement about parenting arrangements. Not enforceable as a court order, but the court must take it into account if the matter is later litigated. Suitable when relationships are working and both parents are likely to follow what was agreed.
  • Consent Orders – if you want the agreement to be legally enforceable, your lawyers can draft Consent Orders and lodge them with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The court reviews them before they take effect, and once made they have the same status as orders made after a contested hearing.

What happens if you don’t reach agreement

Sometimes participants can’t reach a full agreement. That doesn’t mean FDR has failed – the process has helped clarify the issues, surface the gaps, and (for parenting matters) produce the Section 60i Certificate you may need to apply to court.

Common next steps include: trying FDR again with a different focus, getting more legal or financial advice, arbitration for property matters, or applying to court. Your FDR Practitioner can talk through what might work for you.

When FDR isn’t the right fit

FDR is not appropriate for every family law matter. The Accredited FDR Practitioner has a statutory duty to decide whether to proceed, and may decline to or terminate the process if it is not safe or appropriate. Common reasons FDR may not be appropriate include:

  • Recent or ongoing family violence where safe negotiation isn’t possible.
  • Concerns about child abuse or risk to a child.
  • Active intervention orders that prevent contact between participants.
  • Significant power imbalance that cannot be managed through process design.
  • One participant cannot participate effectively (for example, due to acute mental health, substance issues or capacity concerns).
  • Urgent matters that need immediate court intervention.

If FDR is not appropriate, the FDR Practitioner can issue a Section 60i Certificate (for parenting matters) and signpost you to safer or more appropriate help.

How long does FDR take?

The timeline depends on your circumstances, complexity, and how quickly both participants can attend. A typical FDR runs along the following timeline:

  • Pre-mediation: one session per participant, around 1.5 hours each, usually within two to three weeks of booking.
  • Joint mediation: typically a three-hour session, scheduled after both pre-mediations are complete. Some matters need more than one joint session.
  • Total elapsed time: for most matters, FDR is complete within four to six weeks of first contact.

Complex matters – for example, property matters with extensive disclosure, or parenting matters that need multiple sessions to work through – can take longer. We’ll always talk through expected timing with you in pre-mediation.

Ready to start?

If FDR sounds like the right fit, the first step is to get in touch. We’ll arrange your pre-mediation and walk you through what to expect.

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