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

Franc's family mediation experience:

• He has conducted more than 500 family dispute 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

Franc's 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
• He has a Master of Laws (Dispute Resolution), with a specialisation in mediation, from The University of Queensland

Franc's 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

Franc's 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

Carole's family mediation experience:

• She has conducted more than 500 family dispute 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
• 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

Andrea's family mediation experience:

• She has conducted more than 200 family dispute 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
• 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

Our Mediators are all Nationally Accredited Mediators and registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners with the Department of the Federal Attorney-General. As mediators, 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.

Through our nationally accredited mediators and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners, we provide mediation to assist parents in resolving care arrangements for children and financial matters during the difficult time of separation and divorce.

Our services are available across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Our Vision
Positive and sustainable adjustment to separation and divorce for all people.

Our Mission
To promote relationships between separated and divorced parents that are respectful through sustainable and appropriate care arrangements for children and fair property settlements.

Our Values
We live and work by our values to help all Australians achieve positive adjustment after separation and divorce through our values:

Children’s Best Interests: We are committed to promoting and pursuing the best interests of children through the service provision of mediation.

Clients: All members of our community are entitled to high quality, impartial, fair, respectful and affordable services based on their particular needs and delivered without any discrimination.

Collaborative Relationships: We liaise and network with other organisations and industry-specific stakeholders to ensure that our clients can best adjust to separation and divorce after the breakdown of a relationship.

Accountability: All of our services and activities are targeted to meet our clients’ particular needs; therefore, we seek the best possible outcomes by utilising the resources available.

Ethical Behaviour: We promote positive and respectful relationships for all people – especially our clients and our staff – by taking action that protects the autonomy of all people, does not harm others, and ensures that all mediation services are administered fairly and equally.

Intrinsic Value: We, at Family Mediation Brisbane, commit to highly valuing each other by respecting and supporting each other, and by providing a safe and fair workplace.

Professional Services: We strive to provide high quality mediation services, uphold our professional integrity, act within the scope of the Federal Attorney-General’s best practice directions for Family Dispute Resolution, and continually develop our skills in mediation.

Choosing the right family mediator for you and your particular circumstances is an important step. In making that decision, consider the following:

• The mediator’s mediation experience, especially in family law matters that are similar to yours, which may include children's care arrangements, child support, property matters and relocation
• The mediator’s family law expertise
• The mediator’s mediation training and credentials, particularly in family law
• The mediator’s education and professional background, especially for assisting in the generation of options to the issues that are important to you
• The mediator’s reputation for professionalism, impartiality and competency
• The mediator's location, in an area close to you

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

Parents frequently ask, "How should I prepare for my family mediation?"

In preparing for your mediation, consider the following:
FOR CHILDREN'S MATTERS:

• Identify the issues that need to be discussed and resolved
• Consider the underlying needs and concerns for each issue
• Seek independent legal advice
• Think about numerous alternatives in resolving each issue
• Seek independent advice from a child psychologist for guidelines regarding appropriate care arrangements for children according to their ages and developmental stages

FOR PROPERTY MATTERS:

• Identify all of your assets and liabilities
• Ascertain the precise value for each of those assets and liabilities
• Seek independent legal advice about percentage division of all assets and liabilities

Although this serves as a guideline, it is also important not to over-think things before your mediation. Releasing yourself of any preconceived ideas of how you expect the mediation to go is an important step towards attending the mediation session with an open mind.