Family Dispute Resolution (FDR)

What is Family Dispute Resolution?

Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) is a type of mediation that involves people meeting together with a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDR Practitioner) to try and reach an agreement about family law issues.

FDR Practitioners have had special training to support separated families work out their family law disputes. In relation to disputes about a child the FDR Practitioner will help parents (or other caregivers) to focus on the best interests of their child.

Some examples of issues you can try to resolve at an FDR conference include: 

• how decisions will be made about your child
• care arrangements for your child including who they will live with and how much time they will spend with their parents and other important people in their lives
• other matters about how your child will be raised, such as what school they will go to, and
• how property and finances will be divided.

What happens in FDR?

In a FDR conference, the FDR Practitioner helps you to discuss issues with your ex-partner (or another person involved in the dispute). As the FDR Practitioner is independent and must remain impartial; they cannot give you legal advice or tell you what you should do.

The FDR process involves:

• identifying the issues
• listening to each other's concerns
• sharing all the relevant information
• considering all ideas and options
• talking through possible solutions, and
• being ready to compromise.

Are the things we talk about in FDR kept private?

What is said in FDR is private and confidential. The FDR Practitioner, people who attend, and their lawyers cannot tell anyone (including the court) what was said during the conference. However, there are some exceptions, including if it is necessary to protect:

• a child from the risk of physical or psychological harm
• a person from a threat to their life or health, or
• property from deliberate damage or destruction.

Things that are said to or in front of the FDR Practitioner cannot normally be used as evidence in the Family Court, unless it is necessary to give evidence that there has been or is a risk of child abuse.

What happens if we reach an agreement in FDR?

If you and your ex-partner (or another person involved in the dispute) reach an agreement at an FDR conference you can:

• enter into a parenting plan, or
• formalise the agreement by filing an application for consent orders with the court.

For information about parenting plans and consent orders about children see, Infosheet - Making arrangements for children. 

For information about formalising a property agreement with consent orders, see, Video and Fact Sheet - Property Settlement: Consent Orders.  

What happens if we don't reach an agreement in FDR about our child? 

If you can’t reach an agreement about arrangements for your child at a FDR conference, you can ask for a FDR Certificate to show you tried FDR. You and your ex-partner (or another person involved in the dispute who attended the conference) can then apply to the Family Court for orders about your child. You should get legal advice before filing an application with the Family Court.   

When can a FDR Practitioner grant a FDR Certificate?

A FDR Practitioner can grant a FDR Certificate in the following situations:

• your ex-partner (or another person involved in the dispute) refuses or fails to attend a FDR conference
• the FDR Practitioner believes it is not appropriate to start or continue with FDR, because of family violence, a risk of child abuse, or problems with the power and relationship dynamics, or
• you both attend FDR, but someone doesn’t make a genuine effort to reach agreement in FDR (in this situation the court might order you to try FDR again and failing to give a genuine effort in FDR may effect how the court makes decisions about legal costs).

Reviewed: 25 August 2022