Parenting Agreements & Parenting Plans

What to expect from a parenting mediation: our online mediation offers a safe-space to resolve parenting disputes. Your Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner ('FDR') will use a child focused process for mediation to empower you to collaborate, communicate and resolve parental disputes. In reaching agreements around parental disputes you may wish for these verbal/written agreements to be formalised by your FDR practitioner into a parenting plan.

How to prepare for a parenting mediation: 

• Consider the purpose of the mediation (the best interest of the child) and make an honest attempt to resolve the issues in the mediation. 
• Make some notes about topics you will like to discuss (including any activities or important dates that might need to be considered or worked around long-term). 
• Think about realistic options for each of those topics and whether they would be practical under the circumstances. 
• Be prepared that there can be many solutions to address parenting disputes and be willing to collaborate with the co-parent to achieve a solution that would ideally benefit both parents/guardians. 

Parenting Plans: a Parenting Plan is a formalised agreement between both parties in a document that is dated and signed by both parties that record agreements that can provide for: time arrangements, who the child/children lives with, how communications will be made and how major decisions (such as health, education and costs) will be determined. A Parenting Plan is not legally binding, but the court must take a Parenting Plan into consideration (when making parenting orders).

Parenting mediations mandatory: The law (s 60(1) Family Law Act 1975, (Cth)) requires separated parents with children to make a genuine effort (with some exemptions) to resolve parenting disputes before applying to the courts for a parenting order. 

For further information please refer to: https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/fl/children/agree 

What happens if we don't reach an agreement: not all parenting disputes can be resolved in mediation- in fact it make take several mediations to reach an agreement. However, if you're unable to reach an agreement then our FDR practitioner will issue you with a s 60I certificate that allows you to apply to the court for a parenting order. We will also refer you to legal support services to assist you in negotiating and applying for court orders on your behalf. However, we encourage parties to avoid lengthy legal proceeding and court costs by attending and making a genuine effort during the mediation.