We are incredibly proud to announce that one of our family dispute resolution practitioners, François Mercier, attended Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts for Advanced Mediation: Mediating Complex Disputes (June 2018) as part of the Program on Negotiation Executive Education.

During this time, François was fortunate to meet with and gain insights from luminaries of the Mediation world, including David Hoffman, Lawrence Susskind, Susan Podziba, Samuel Dinnar, and Audrey Lee.

François has since returned from this enriching experience with new perspectives on resolving disputes in the Family Law landscape.
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We are proud to announce that Family Mediation Brisbane was a sponsor of the Queensland Law Society & Family Law Practitioners Association Family Law Residential 2017, which was held at Sheraton Grand Mirage on the Gold Coast. The symposium (13-16 July) was attended by judges, barristers, solicitors, legal practitioners and mediators practising in Family Law.

We are proud to have supported this conference.

We are excited to announce that Family Mediation Brisbane will again be sponsoring the Queensland Law Society Family Law Residential 2017, which will be held at Sheraton Grand Mirage on the Gold Coast. The symposium (13-16 July) will be attended by judges, barristers, solicitors, legal practitioners and mediators practising in Family Law.

We are excited to announce that Family Mediation Brisbane was a sponsor of the Queensland Law Society Family Law Residential 2016, which was held at Sheraton Grand Mirage on the Gold Coast. The symposium (21-24 July) was attended by barristers, solicitors, legal practitioners and mediators practising in Family Law.

We are proud to have supported this conference.

Family law mediation is a process that can be used to reach agreements relating to parents' property and financial matters, including how to divide the assets and liabilities, as well as how to provide financial support to children.

These property and financial matters can be discussed during family law mediation, during which any agreements that are reached are then reduced to writing and provided to the parents.

In order to be legally enforceable, parents must seek independent legal advice from a solicitor, who then certifies that they have provided such advice. This certification forms part of any application to the Family Court, in which the parents thereafter enter into a Binding Financial Agreement, as defined in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and ratified by the Family Court.

Family mediation seeks to arrive at agreements between parents in relation to their children. There are three different types of agreements:

PARENTING AGREEMENT:

• Concerning children's care arrangements, decision-making processes and other specific issues
• Neither signed nor dated by each parent
• Not legally enforceable

PARENTING PLAN:

• Concerning children's care arrangements, decision-making processes and other specific issues
• Signed and dated by each parent
• Not legally enforceable, although somewhat influential to a Family Court judge who is later making Parenting Orders

CONSENT ORDERS:

• Concerning children's care arrangements, decision-making processes and other specific issues
• Must be in a specific format as part of an application to the Family Court
• Stamped by the Family Court and therefore enforceable

François' family law mediation experience:

• He has conducted more than 500 family law mediations in parenting matters, children's care arrangements, property settlements and relocation matters, with parents located in Queensland, interstate and overseas
• He has conducted child-inclusive mediations, where a child psychologist provides feedback during the mediation to the parents, after having spent time with the children to determine how they are coping with the separation and current parenting arrangements

François' family mediation certifications and qualifications:

• He is registered as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner with the Department of the Federal Attorney-General, pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
  

• He is a nationally accredited mediator under the Queensland Law Society, the Bar Association of Queensland, the Australian Mediation Association, the Queensland Law Society and The University of Queensland
• He has a Master of Laws (Litigation & Dispute Resolution), with a specialisation in mediation, from The University of Queensland

François' flexibility in the process of family mediation:

• He provides face-to-face mediation, lawyer-assisted mediation, shuttle mediation where the parents are in two different rooms, and online mediation via Skype over the internet on a secure platform, especially useful for interstate and international parties
  
• He conducts mediations in Brisbane's CBD, Eight Mile Plains, Milton, and Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast
• He is experienced in conducting interstate mediations and international mediations

François' professionalism, understanding and courtesy:

• He is aware of what separated and divorced parents are enduring
  
• He provides a mediation process that places parents most at ease
• He ensures that any power imbalances between parents do not affect the mediation process or influence its outcome

François' skill as a Barrister in writing agreements with precision:

• He provides written agreements that are detailed and precise
• He writes mediation agreements in the same manner as Draft Consent Orders, thereby saving parents the legal costs of having to convert informal mediation agreements into Draft Consent Orders

Carole's family law mediation experience:

• She has conducted more than 500 family law mediations in parenting matters, children's care arrangements, and property settlements
• She has conducted child-inclusive mediations, where a child psychologist provides feedback during the mediation to the parents, after having spent time with the children to determine how they are coping with the separation and current parenting arrangements
• She has conducted over 100 Residential Tenancy conciliations
• She has conducted over 100 QCAT mediations

Carole's family mediation certifications and qualifications:

• She is registered as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner with the Department of the Federal Attorney-General, pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
  

• She is a nationally accredited mediator under the Australian Mediation Association
• He has a Bachelor of Laws, with electives in mediation

Carole's flexibility in the process of family mediation:

• She provides face-to-face mediation, lawyer-assisted mediation, and shuttle mediation where the parents are in two different rooms
  
• She conducts mediations in Brisbane's CBD, Eight Mile Plains, Milton, and Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast

Carole's professionalism, understanding and courtesy:

• She is aware of what separated and divorced parents are enduring
  
• She provides a mediation process that places parents most at ease
• She ensures that any power imbalances between parents do not affect the mediation process or influence its outcome

Carole's legal skill as a university law lecturer in writing agreements with precision:

• She provides written agreements that are detailed and precise
• She writes mediation agreements in the same manner as Draft Consent Orders, thereby saving parents the legal costs of having to convert informal mediation agreements into Draft Consent Orders

Andrea's family law mediation experience:

• She has conducted more than 200 family law mediations in parenting matters, children's care arrangements, and property settlements
• She has conducted over 100 neighbourhood dispute mediations
  
• She has conducted over 100 workplace mediations

Andrea's family mediation certifications and qualifications:

• She is registered as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner with the Department of the Federal Attorney-General, pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
  

• She is a nationally accredited mediator under the Australian Mediation Association
• He has a Bachelor of Laws, with electives in mediation, from Bond University

Andrea's flexibility in the process of family mediation:

• She provides face-to-face mediation, lawyer-assisted mediation, and shuttle mediation where the parents are in two different rooms
  
• She conducts mediations in Brisbane's CBD, Eight Mile Plains, and Milton

Andrea's professionalism, understanding and courtesy:

• She is aware of what separated and divorced parents are enduring
  
• She provides a mediation process that places parents most at ease
• She ensures that any power imbalances between parents do not affect the mediation process or influence its outcome

Andrea's skill as a solicitor in writing agreements with precision:

• She provides written agreements that are detailed and precise
• She writes mediation agreements in the same manner as Draft Consent Orders, thereby saving parents the legal costs of having to convert informal mediation agreements into Draft Consent Orders

Our Mediators are all nationally accredited and registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners with the Department of the Federal Attorney-General. As mediators, legal practitioners and counsellors, they each have years of experience in working with families that are coping with separation and divorce.

Further, all of our mediators adhere to the best practice standards as prescribed by the Department of the Federal Attorney-General of the Australian Government.