Parenting Mediation & Family Dispute Resolution
Parenting Mediation
Struggling to reach agreement following separation?
Parenting Mediation (formally known as Family Dispute Resolution) is a process designed to help separated families resolve disputes around parenting and/or property issues. Separated families who disagree about a parenting issue/s are legally required to make a genuine effort to resolve their differences before asking a court to decide (exemptions apply). Sorting through your differences with an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (aka the Mediator) saves you time and money…and it’s a lot less stressful. Mediation helps restore family stability and minimise the risk to children’s health and well-being by assisting to develop a practical parenting plan.
Click here for our 2026 Parenting Mediation brochure, including full pricing
At Northern Frontiers we understand the many discomforts of separation. For that reason we don’t only offer face-to-face mediation, but also telephone and videochat (FaceTime, MS Teams and Zoom) sessions with direct or no direct voice contact. Our aim is to provide the most comfortable forum for you to air your concerns and work towards resolution. It all starts with a confidential Intake & Assessment session with your mediator.
If your matter relates primarily to property, please click here for our Property Mediation information.
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To enquire or book your confidential Intake & Assessment session simply call 1300 90 81 70, text message 0419 531 269, or send an email to reception@northernfrontiers.com.au
Ask about our FREE 15min consultation (can be shorter if you only have a few questions) or use the LiveChat feature at the right of this webpage to ask any questions or to make a booking.
Concerned your ex-partner won't agree to mediation?
Click here to learn more about our Parenting Proposal Preparation and Property Proposal Preparation services that can help you develop a parenting or property proposal. Your proposal can then be presented to the other party, and/or their legal advisor, for their consideration - saving you significant time and money. If the other party does then wish to join mediation you can continue or commence a process.
Why choose Northern Frontiers Mediation?
- We get things moving quickly! First step is your Intake & Assessment session with the Mediator - typically no longer that 2-3 business days following your initial contact with us. If your matter is assessed as appropriate for mediation and the other party agrees to join the process, you could be mediating within 2-3 weeks, or as soon as both parties make themselves available. Government subsidised mediation providers frequently have waitlists extending 4-5 months.
- You only need to do one Intake & Assessment session, regardless of whether you wish to mediate around parenting, property or both. Not all government-funded mediation services offer property mediation - it’s dependent on staffing. Northern Frontiers is consistently staffed to assist with parenting and/or property matters.
- We have fully accredited mediators (aka Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners) and can therefore issue s60I certificates.
- We welcome your lawyer’s input to the mediation process, however, we must know in what capacity you wish your lawyer to be involved. You can discuss that with the mediator in your Intake & Assessment session. Also, we only provide no direct voice contact (the old version of shuttle mediation) when one party is legally represented and the other is not. This ensures we have a level playing field.
- And lastly, you'll have more flexibility over whether your joint session is conducted in-person, via phone or video chat. Remember, unless you think it would be really beneficial to sit opposite each other during mediation, you don’t have to. Depending on the state of your relationship with the other party, it’s perhaps best to mediate via phone or video-chat. This is completely ok and something you should talk to your mediator about in your Intake & Assessment session. We want your mediation to be as stress-free as possible…
Family separation can be a time of great stress and uncertainty - especially for children.
What children need most is Routine, Reliability and Regularity – as well as happy parents. Ongoing parental conflict is the number one risk factor in terms of children’s long-term mental health and well-being.
Separated families who disagree about a parenting issue/s are legally required to make a genuine effort to resolve their differences before asking a court to decide (exemptions apply). Mediation is a common, inexpensive form of dispute resolution.
Northern Frontiers Mediation offers a range of family law mediation services via phone and videoconferencing platforms Australia-wide. We pride ourselves on providing friendly child-focused parenting and property mediation services.
Is my matter suitable for mediation?
Anything to do with parenting may be listed as an agenda item for mediation and included in a parenting plan. Examples include a child’s education; time spent with each parent; communication between parents; health; surname; passports; vaccinations; parental relocation with the child (and child-recover matters); rules for re-partnering; cultural issues, religion etc.
If your dispute is around division of property due to family separation, Northern Frontiers Mediation can assist with a structured Property Mediation process. Please click here for our 2025 Property Mediation brochure.
You can discuss your mediation agenda items with the Mediator during pre-mediation sessions.
What happens if the other party does not join the mediation process?
Firstly, if the other party refuses to join the mediation process a s60I certificate may be issued by the Mediator. This may indicate that you have started the mediation process (by doing your Intake & Assessment session) but for whatever reason the other party has not joined, and the whole process can not continue. If this does occur, you can still meet with one of our Mediators and generate a Property Agreement Proposal that can either be presented by yourself to the other party for their review, or used as a basis for any court/legal applications. Please click here for more information on either our Property Proposal Preparation or Parenting Preparation Proposal service.
Who can start mediation?
Anyone with an ongoing interest in the care and well-being of a child can initiate family law mediation. This includes parents (regardless of marital status or length of relationship); stepparents; grandparents, other extended family members and significant others.
Clients can advise the other party that they will, or would like to, commence a parenting mediation process, or you can rely on Northern Frontiers Mediation to do this as part of our formal process. Some clients believe it will achieve a better result if they advise their ex-partner of the mediation process, whereas others prefer to limit direct contact with the other party and ask Northern Frontiers Mediation to assist. Please discuss your preferences, and individual circumstances, with the Northern Frontiers Reception team.
Is Parenting Mediation expensive?
Parenting Mediation is intended to be an alternative to only relying on lawyers and Courts to resolve your matter. As lawyers cost between $400 - $700 per hour per party, Northern Frontiers Mediation charges significantly less than these legal costings. This means you can save considerable money (often $1,000s) by utilising an impartial Mediator to assist in resolving your matters, rather than only lawyers (where each party requires their own). For a full breakdown of our mediation costs click here to review our 2025 Parenting Mediation Brochure.
Contact Northern Frontiers
Contact our Reception team to confidentially discuss your situation or find out more about any of our services.
There is no obligation to make a booking. If you are simply researching your options or are unsure which service is right for you, we are happy to answer your questions.
Northern Frontiers provides mediation and behavioural awareness programs Australia-wide by phone and video.
Call: 1300 90 81 70
Text or call: 0419 531 269
Email: reception@northernfrontiers.com.au
You can also send us a message using the enquiry form or use the online chat function on this webpage. Your enquiry will be treated confidentially. Please do not include highly sensitive information in the enquiry form.
Phone
1300 90 81 70
Mobile: 0419 531 269 (text or call)
LiveChat: If you have any questions about our services and don't have time to ring or email, feel free to use the online chat function (bottom right of this page).
Reception Opening Hours
Mon-Fri: 7.30 am – 8.00 pm. Last-minute sessions available for urgent matters. Text message 0419 531 269 for the fastest response.