Understanding Family Mediation
Family mediation, or more correctly, family dispute resolution is the process of mediating with your former partner on parenting and/or financial and property matters.
Under the Family Law Act (1975) it’s expected that this will happen before seeking a family court hearing.
This family mediation can be provided in a range of ways, by a range of organisations, and involve a broad range of costs.
In the following post we’ll examine the costs involved in family dispute resolution mediation and why they are what they are.
Variables Impacting Costs
Importantly, there are a number of significant variables that will impact on the cost of your family mediation. These variables underpin the industry and due to their nature will likely impact your decision making for more reasons than just cost.
Your Mediator and Their Organisation
Family mediation is undertaken by qualified, registered family dispute resolution practitioners. They may work for a not-for-profit organisation that receives government funds, a private business (including law firms), be a sole trader, or be part of a legal aid/family court panel.
Not-for-profit and legal aid organisations charge the least for family mediation. This is due to their government funding and not-for-profit nature. This area of the profession provides for, and is of great benefit, for those with limited financial means. Unfortunately waiting lists can be long, mediation sessions short, and your intake staff member may be different from your mediator. This is far from the ideal.
Law firms offering family mediation often have a lawyer staff member who is also a trained family dispute resolution practitioner. Often this means that the mediation will be charged at the rate an experienced lawyer may charge and this can be significant. Further to this is the way the mediation may be structured. In legal circles lawyers often provide proposals for settlements to clients. While this is a useful legal strategy it isn’t accepted as best practice in family mediation. Rather, the clients, collaboratively, are expected to work together to develop their own plan rather than simply choose one of the options their lawyer-mediator has constructed. In effect you’re paying a large sum for an agreement that a lawyer developed and that you and your former partner may have tweaked. Inarguably not the best way to ensure the best interests of the children are recognised!
Independent family dispute resolution practitioners, working for themselves or for a business, provide a balanced middle ground where their practice is structured, first and foremost, around the needs of their clients and the children involved.
These businesses provide the flexibility and resilience to provide family mediation based on their clientele and not a prescribed formulaic model or government funding accountability demands. Costs for these services can vary between about $1500 and $4000.
Location, Location, Location!
Location and accessibility of family mediation services can impact on cost. Logically, a mediation company that has been operating for 20 years in the centre of the Melbourne CBD will be charging more than a regionally based sole practitioner with a home-based practise. In saying this it is important to remember that all family dispute resolution practitioners are highly qualified and understand the demands of the profession. Often the higher prices charged have little to do with anything other than overheads in the form of commercial property leases, ancillary staffing costs, marketing, and anticipated profit. In effect, just because you’re paying more doesn’t mean you’re getting more.
Increasingly the family mediation profession is utilising the internet for online mediation. This is a real positive in terms of cost to the client. With lower overheads (i.e not needing to lease commercial premises) FDRP’s are able to work from home and thus lower their costs. At Resolutions Australia we recognise this and as you can see through searching, we offer one of the most cost-effective rates for family mediation within the profession.
A further benefit of utilising online family mediation is that it is now wholly accessible for those in remote areas. No travel time, no limited access, no lengthy waits.
Size, Scope, and Scale of the Family Mediation
As family mediators we’ve dealt with a very broad range of issues impacting families. From a former couple with no children, who are amicable, and already have a resolution plan in mind through to families with six children and step children, family trusts and businesses part owned with extended family members living offshore, we’ve seen it all. As you can imagine, the more complex the family mediation, the longer it will take, and the higher the cost.
Playing devil’s advocate and thinking about not-for-profit organisations it’s very hard to see how an effective, authentic agreement could be reached on a complex matter like the one above, in just 2-3 hours.
The opposite time and cost concern is likely if utilising a lawyer-mediator. You’ll be paying lawyer rates for a protracted and lengthy mediation. They may insist on an accountant taking part or seeking advice from a commercial law specialist. All of which add to the final bill.
Depending on the size, scope, and scale of a family mediation private practices have the ability to target their costs directly to your situation. If you’re a couple with no kids who both have an amicably reached resolution in mind you may be able to negotiate a reduced fee with your mediator. For likely lengthier mediations it’s good practice to have overtime hourly rates available for your clientele. Many private mediators have a set fee structure that’s chunked into time blocks, others simply charge by the hour.
At Resolutions Australia we’ve got the best of both worlds available. Our fee structure is based on a standard 4 hour mediation that then offers the opportunity to continue should extra time be needed (and the rate at which this is charged.) We also offer two service factors that are very unique. Firstly, the ability to do your intake session in the morning and your mediation in the afternoon. This saves on wait times for clients and has proven enormously popular! Secondly, we don’t schedule any other business after the standard 4 hour mediation. This ensures that should there be a need to continue we are able to. Nothing rushed due to a late appointment, nothing we need to reschedule. Extra time is available. Again, very appreciated by our clients!
Values
Like many other professions, family dispute resolution organisations and practitioners consider their provision of services through a values based lens.
Some may believe they are of best service to the community by undertaking not-for-profit work whereby those who can least afford family mediation have access to it. Others may see the value in making their private practices flexible and accommodating to a broad range of clients with a focus on individual needs. Still further, other practitioners may find value in linking their practice to the legal system and its structures.
Resolutions Australia recognises the importance of providing secure, safe, empowering family resolution to clients who are working through challenging times. We recognise vulnerability, we recognise the strength of providing an online opportunity to mediate, and we recognise the breadth of need within the community that we are able to serve.
Importantly, regardless of the values base held, all practitioners do what they do to be of essential service to the community.
Decision Making
When asking the question “How much does family mediation cost?” It is essential that clients consider the factors discussed above. While cost is an important factor for many it’s also important to understand options, recognise the type and style of family mediation experience that would best suit their situation, and understand the numerous variables that differentiate family dispute resolution providers and the impact this has on costs.
If, as a client, you recognise the empowering, very cost effective, flexible, and timely nature of the service provided by Resolutions Australia then we would love to hear from you!
