Payment Terms & Conditions

Northern Frontiers – Terms & Conditions of Service

Please read these terms, the Pricing page and your booking confirmation before paying for services supplied by Northern Frontiers Pty Ltd. Contact Reception if anything is unclear or if the documents appear inconsistent. We will clarify the applicable arrangements before you confirm your booking.

Services covered

These terms cover mediation, Family Dispute Resolution, proposal preparation, Anger Management and behavioural awareness programs. Relationship Counselling is currently paused for new clients. Existing clients should refer to the arrangements confirmed for their ongoing appointments.

Fees, GST and payment

Fees are in Australian dollars and include GST. Your booking confirmation identifies the service, booked duration, price and any additional administration or documentation charges. Unless otherwise agreed, each mediation participant is responsible for their own fees.

Prepayment is required to confirm a booking. For mediation, please arrange payment at least two business days before the appointment unless Reception agrees otherwise. Unpaid tentative appointments may be offered to another client. We provide proof of payment in accordance with Australian Consumer Law. You may also request an itemised account for services.

Appointment duration and preparation

An appointment described as “up to” a stated duration may finish earlier. Intake & Assessment is an individual assessment rather than a promise to use every minute of the available time. Mediation fees can also cover preparation and administration as described in your booking confirmation and the Pricing page.

The length and number of mediation sessions depend on the issues and progress made. A booking is not a guarantee that mediation will proceed, last for the maximum duration or result in agreement. Any additional booked time or charges should be clarified before proceeding.

Cancellations and changes

Please contact Reception as soon as possible if you cannot attend. For cancellations within 48 hours of the appointment, the current booking policy does not ordinarily provide a change-of-mind refund. One reschedule or a credit may be offered. Where a credit is issued, its amount and expiry will be confirmed in writing; the current standard credit period is three months.

Contact Reception about cancellations made earlier, missed appointments or exceptional circumstances so the applicable arrangements can be confirmed. These booking conditions do not remove rights to remedies under Australian Consumer Law. If Northern Frontiers cannot provide an agreed service, we will discuss an appropriate reschedule or refund of the unprovided service, subject to your statutory rights.

Unused time in mediation

Booked mediation fees ordinarily cover the reserved session and associated work, rather than only the minutes used in discussion. A change-of-mind refund is not ordinarily provided merely because a session finishes early. Any discretionary credit is considered in the circumstances. This does not exclude remedies where services fail to meet applicable consumer guarantees.

Suitability, safety and participation

Each participant completes an individual assessment before mediation proceeds. Practitioners assess safety, suitability, power imbalances and the ability to participate freely. Mediation may not proceed or may be stopped if it becomes inappropriate. Discuss existing orders, restrictions on contact, family violence or other safety concerns privately with your practitioner.

Participants must communicate respectfully and follow the agreed arrangements for the session. Proposed attendance by a lawyer, support person or another participant must be discussed in advance.

Family Dispute Resolution and certificates

A section 60I certificate concerns parenting matters and can only be issued where the applicable requirements are met. The accredited FDR practitioner determines the appropriate certificate category. The intake fee includes a certificate arising appropriately from that process; payment does not guarantee a certificate, category or Court outcome.

Property-only disputes do not use section 60I certificates. A Proof of Mediation letter is a separate service with a separate fee. It does not replace the Court’s Genuine Steps Certificate or other filing requirements. See Pricing and obtain independent legal advice about your circumstances.

Records of agreement and proposals

Where agreement is reached, Northern Frontiers can record the agreed arrangements. Applicable administration and document charges are set out on the Pricing page and in your booking confirmation. A Record of Agreement is not automatically a Court order or legally binding settlement.

Proposal Preparation is an individual service. A proposal does not require another person to agree and does not itself satisfy parenting FDR requirements. Obtain independent legal advice about Parenting Plans, Consent Orders, Financial Agreements and other documents needed to give effect to an agreement. Northern Frontiers does not provide legal, financial, taxation or medical advice.

Anger Management and awareness programs

Our programs provide individual education and behavioural awareness. They do not provide medical, psychological or psychiatric diagnosis or treatment and do not replace clinical care, specialist family violence intervention, risk assessment or emergency assistance.

Four-session programs and any two-session add-ons must be booked as agreed with Reception. Current rates and applicable prepayment discounts appear on the Pricing page. A parent or guardian must contact us and complete the required consent process for a participant under 18.

An optional Letter of Completion may be prepared after the relevant program has been completed. It records participation and completion and may describe the topics addressed. It does not guarantee Court acceptance, a legal result or future behaviour. Confirm any referring organisation’s requirements before booking.

Confidentiality

We handle information privately, subject to applicable law and the confidentiality arrangements for the service. FDR has statutory protections and exceptions. Other mediation and program services may have different requirements. Your practitioner will explain the relevant limits, including disclosures required or permitted by law. Do not assume every communication is protected from disclosure or admissibility.

Questions, feedback and complaints

Contact Reception on 1300 90 81 70, text or call 0419 531 269, or email reception@northernfrontiers.com.au. Ask for the complaints process relevant to your practitioner if you wish to make a complaint.

External practitioner complaints information is available from Resolution Institute for Melinda Bailey and Mediation Institute for Alex Blake. Reception can provide the applicable procedure and contact details.

Your statutory rights

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies consumer guarantees or other rights that cannot lawfully be excluded. For information, see the ACCC’s consumer rights guidance.