FAQs

No, not at all. 

Mediation is a facilitated meeting between the parties do discuss the dispute with the assistance of a neutral mediator. Only the parties can come up with a settlement. A mediator cannot impose a decision or outcome on the parties. 

Court is adversarial, which means, the parties are against each other and the judge of the court makes a decision and imposes an outcome on the parties, regardless if they agree or disagree. There is no confidentiality and your private life can be aired in an open court. 

Mediation is done volunarily which means both of you have to agree to mediate.  However litigation is not voluntary becuase if the other party sues you, then you have no choice but to attend court otherwise a decsion will be made by the judge in your absence. 

Court is very expensive and time consuming with the average family law litigation costing anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 even more, per party, and litigation often taking from 1 year to up to 3 years even more to finalise the court proceedings. 

In mediation, you are each in control.

In court, netiher or you are in control and instead the judge is in control and imposes an outcome on both of you. 

A mediator is a person that is qualified to mediate disputes between parties. 

Our Wise Mediators are Nationally Accredited mediators, and therefore have completed formal training and have experience as mediators and are regsitered as accredited mediators under the National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS). 

We also have Wise Mediators that are Nationally Accredited as Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners (FDRP) that are fully qualified and accredited with the Federal Attorney General’s Office to mediate family law parenting disputes and to issue Section 60I Certificates under the under the Family Law Act (1975) Cth. 

A person that is not a Nationally Accredited FDRP cannot issue a Section 60I Certficate under the Family Law Act (1975) Cth.

A FDRP is short for Famiy Dispute Resolution Practitioner, which means a nationally qualified mediator that is registered with the Federal Attorney General’s Office as a FDRP and therefore able to mediate parenting matters and issue a Section 60I Certificate under the Family Law Act (1975) Cth. 

Only a nationally accredited FDRP can issue a Section 60I Certificate. 

A nationally accredited meditator must have addtional qualifications and also be registered as a FDRP before they can issue a Section 60I Certificate. 

A nationally accredited mediator that is not a registered FDRP can still mediate a parenting dispute however they cannot issue a valid Section 60I Certificate under the Family Law Act (1975) Cth. 

A mediator faciliates discussions and negotiations between parties in relation to their dispute. 

A mediator can help the parties each identify the issues in dispute and help the parties come up with different options to resolve the dispute. 

A mediator helps the parties negotate and to formulate offers to each other to help the parties come to an agreement to settle their dispute. 

A mediator is there to help the parties work through a dispute and to faciliate discussions and negotiations as a neutral party, without the parties having to deal directly with each other which is often difficult to do due to the dispute.

Mediation is not a court or tribunal.

Mediation is not a judgement of either party by the Mediator. 

No decision or outcome can be imposed on either party to the mediation. 

Mediation is not focused on the past and playing the ‘blame game’. Instead, mediation is future focused on how best to resolve the dispute and move forward in the future with workable options. 

A Section 60I Certificate is a certificate that a Nationally Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP) can issue under the Family Law Act (Cth) 1975, which is required by the Registry of the Family Court of Australia or Federal Circuit Court of Australia (family law division) before an Inititating Application can be filed with the registry to commence family law proceedings for parenting issues. 

It is only relevant to family law parenting matters, and not family law property matters.

Only a Nationally Accredited FDRP can issue a valid Section 60I Certificate. 

This certificate is issued in the event that a party refuses to attend mediation. 

There are other grounds the Section 60I Certificate can be issued, including if the matter is not suitable for mediation as deemed by the mediator, or the parties mediated in good faith but were unable to reach an agreement to settle, or the parties attended mediation but a party did not mediate in good faith. 

Our Wise Mediators are Nationally Accredited FDRP so they can issue Section 60I Certificates if required. 

If you have been invited to mediate, then you will receive an obligation-free phone call from one of our Wise Mediators to set up a time to discuss mediation, what it is, the benefits of mediation, how mediation works, and what the next steps are. 

Our Wise Mediator will also answer any questions you may have about mediation.

Anything you say to the Wise Mediator during the call is also confidential, that is, the mediator will not disclose to the other party what. you have said apart from whether you agree or do not agree to mediate in response to the invitation to mediate. 

An email will also be sent to you with the invitation to mediate, which will contain information about mediation and also that we will contact you to discuss the invitation to mediate and any questions you may have. 

We like to make contact with you to put you at ease about mediation, so that you can have confidence about the process of mediation and that mediation is a great way to resolve a dispute, instead of trying to do it all yourselves which can be very difficult and often lead to further disagreements. 

It is your decision at to whether or not you want to mediate. We just want to give you all the information and answer your questions first, so that you can make an informed decision about mediating. 

No. Mediation is a voluntary process which means you decide whether or not you want to mediate.

However, for family law parenting matters, the court registry will require you to have tried in genuine good faith to mediate your parenting dispute before an application for parenting issues can be made to the Family Court of Australia or Federal Circuit Court of Australia (family law division). 

If you refuse to mediate for parenting matters, then the mediator can issue a Section 60I Certificate indicating that you did not attend the mediation. This is often not a good look or first impression to the court if you have refused to mediate. The court wants people to genuinely try to mediate, and refusal can be seen in a negative light by the court. Most cases in court get sent to mediate anyway as part of the litigation process, so a refusal to mediate now may end up with you being forced to mediate by the court as part of the litigation process. 

Sometimes a matter may be deemed as ‘unsuitable’ for mediation, if so, a mediator can issue a Section 60I certificate to reflect that situation. 

For Estate disputes and commercial disputes, the courts usually require “pre-actions” prior to litigation or a final hearing which also include that the parties attempt to mediate to resolve the dispute. 

The answer is Yes. The Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia have recently amalgamated into the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia. As part of the amalgamation, for Family Law property settlement disputes, parties must now take “Pre-Action Steps” which includes the parties making a “Genuine Effort” to resolve their property settlement dispute using a dispute resolution service. 

A dispute resolution service provides mediation services. 

The Court now requires the parties to each complete a Genuine Steps Certificate before they can file any family law property settlement litigation proceedings. 

There are some exceptions but in most cases the exemptions will not apply. 

Our Wise Mediators are happy to speak with you obligation-free and will let you know if your matter is unsuitable for mediation and if an exemption would apply. 

Wise Mediations provides professional dispute resolution services for parties that are looking to make a genuine effort to try and resolve their property settlement dispute at mediation, “The Wise Way”. 

If you refuse to mediate for example a parenting dispute, then the Mediator can issue a Section 60I Certificate to the inviting party that will indicate that they wanted to mediate but the other party refused to mediate. 

This Section 60I Certificate can then be filed by the initiating party to commence proceedings in for the parenting dispute in Court. 

If you refuse to mediate a family law property dispute, then either party can file proceedings with the Court. 

If you refuse to mediate an estate dispute, then the court can make a court order to force the parties to go to mediation during the litigation process, however this is usually after significant legal fees have been accrued which are usually paid from the funds of the estate of the deceased, which means less estate funds available for division after legal fees for the beneficiaries. 

If you refuse to mediate a commercial dispute, then the court may force the parties to go to mediatoin during the litigation process, and often it is after significant legal fees and time has been spent by the parties already. 

Domestic violence is not uncommon in family law disputes which are heard in the Courts. In many cases, despite a history of domestic violence or the existence of a domestic violence protection order, the Court often still orders the parties to attend a private mediation or conciliation conference to try and resolve their parenting and/or property disputes. 

Our Wise Mediators are experienced in helping parties post-separation that have domestic violence issues. Our Wise Mediators will do a confidential intake with each party in which you can freely disclose your concerns and the history of domestic violence and if there is any current protection order. 

Depending on the circumstances, our Wise Mediator will assess the information to determine if your matter is suitable for mediation. Sometimes we can facilitate mediation using different safe guards which can including on-line mediation, or separate sessions mediations so that the parties do not have to meet with each other in person, which enable the parties to mediate in safety. Our Wise Mediators also ensure that the mediation process is without intimidation as we manage the mediation in a non-confrontational atmosphere. 

If your matter is unsuitable, our Wise Mediator will let you know and will provide a Section 60I Certificate which would. indicate the exemption. 

Speak with one of our Wise Mediators and let them know if you have any concerns. We are here to help. 

If you have been invited to mediate, and you accept the invitation to mediate, then Wise Mediations will send you more information by email as discussed with you so that a mediation can be convened. 

After you have agreed to mediate, an Agreement to Mediate will be emailed to you. It has all the information and rules of mediation so you understand. You simply follow the instructions in the email to complete the Agreement to Mediate. 

You will also receive an estimate of the mediation fees with your share of the fees details.

Once the booking fee is paid, then a formal intake process by telephone with one of our Wise Mediators will be scheduled with you over the next few days. 

The intake process is confidential and is your opportunity to discuss with our Wise Mediator your concerns regarding the dispute. Anything you say during the intake remains confidential and the other party will not be told, unless you provide specific permission for any disclosure of information. 

Once the intake process has been completed with you, a mediation date will be scheduled with both the parties for a suitable date as soon as possible. 

We will discuss this with you once you have completed your intake process by telephone. 

Mediation is a very quick process in comparison to litigation. A mediation can be done in as little as 1 day, usually starting at 8.30am and ending at 4.30pm, or 8.00am to 4.00pm or 9.00am to 5.00pm depending on your circumstances and availability. 

Sometimes a half day mediation is suitable for a matter, but this depends on how close to agreement the parties already are, and the type of dispute and complexity. The mediator can discuss with you the best mediation time length to suit your matter and give it the best chances to settle. 

This is known as your “mediation date”. 

Prior to the mediation date, an intake process is conducted with each party confidentially over the phone, and usually takes an hour for each person. 

From start to finish, from the first contact with us to mediation date, the process can be as quick as a week from the initial invitation to mediate, to acceptance, intakes with each party and then the mediation date. The faster the invited party agrees to mediate, the sooner we can get the mediation process rolling and select intake times and the mediation date. 

Some matters require further information to be obtained by the parties such as valuation reports for family law property issues. Usually the mediation date can be set within a week of receiving the required information such as valuation reports, if they are required. 

Our Wise Mediators can let you know the anticipated time frame for your dispute when you speak with them. 

Depending on your dispute type, we can often give you a mediation date that is within 1 week of both the parties agreeing to mediate and paying the booking fee for the mediation.

It can be very quickly convened depending on how ready the parties are to mediate and the type of dispute. 

If there is any preliminary requirements such as more information that is needed to be obtained by the parties, then the mediator will let you know during the intake process. 

No. Mediation is a voluntary process which means it is up to each of you to decide whether or not you want to settle your dispute and the terms of your settlement agreement. A mediator cannot force you to settle. A mediator helps and encourages the parties to explore different options to resolve the issues in dispute and if possible to help the parties both come to a mutually agreed settlement of their dispute. 

If the parties are unable to come to an agreement to settle the dispute, then the mediation is ended without an agreement between the parties. 

With today’s technology, it is easier to mediate online. We use a securely encrypted video conferencing platform that lets us see and speak with each other, share documents on the screen, have a virtual whiteboard, and documents can be signed online securely using Adobe PDF for electronic signatures that are verified. 

Given the Covid-19 situation, people have now become acustomed to doing their work online, and similarly mediation can now be done online which is easier, and more convenient for people today. 

Online mediation is convenient as you can do it straight from home and do not need to travel anywhere or actually be physcially in the same place to mediate. 

Online mediation also saves you money as you do not have to hire a venue or travel or pay for parking, it is all instead done from the convenience and privacy of your home. 

Yes. A mediation can be convened to be in person at a neutral venue. However this is at an additional charge for the venue hired for the mediation.

Usually the venue will consist of a boardroom and 2 separate ‘break-out’ rooms, so a total of 3 rooms for the venue hire. 

Wise Mediations can organise the venue hire, however the parties will be required to pay the venue hire fees in addition to the mediation fees. 

We can organise venue hire for mediation in person in most capital cities and regional cities. 

Just contact us and we can help you with more information about venues to mediate in person. 

Please note that mediation in person is also subject to the COVID-19 rules, and during this time video conferencing on our securely encrypted video conferencing platform may be the best way to mediate. 

Yes. 

We can easily mediate online on our securely encrypted mediation platform. 

Our online mediation is easy, we will send you each an email with all the details which you simply click on to join the private mediation online. 

Our online mediation has video conferencing as well as the ability to share documents and a virtual whiteboard for notes. 

Our online mediation platform is modern and relaxing so you don’t have to worry about how to use it, we have made it very easy so that you can relax and just mediate. 

All our other communications with you are by email and telephone calls, so we do not have to meet in person and instead can do it all virtually. 

It’s easy. Just hit the contact us button below and fill in your details and we will get in contact with you.

One of our Wise Mediators will call you and provide you with an obligation-free teleconference consultation which is usually up to 30 minutes to answer all your questions and provide you with more information for mediation. 

If you decide to go ahead and mediate, then we will contact the other party for you and invite them to mediation. We will explain to them the benefits of medation and the neutrality of the process. We are here to help both of you resolve your dispute “The Wise Way“.

Then we will take care of the rest of the process and step you through to your mediation date. 

There are many great reasons why you should mediate. 

Mediation provides you with an opportunity to work through the issues of a dispute with the help of a neutral party, the mediator, instead of trying to sort out the disputes directly by yourselves. 

Often when people try to directly resolve a dispute they end of in an argument which will only make things worse.

Those arguments can be avoided with the assistance of a mediator neutrally assists both the parties to work through the dispute without arguing with each other, and the mediator helps keep the parties on track through the mediation process to work through options to best resolve their dispute and settle it. 

Often, a dispute needs to be resolved because the parties still need to maintain a working relationship, be it as parents to children in family law disputes, or as family members in estate disputes, or as business partners or business cliental in commerical disputes. 

Burning your bridges with the the other party is not the best way to resolve the dispute and often there needs to be some sort of working relationship for the future.

For family law property disputes, it is the best interests of both the parties to work together to make a sensible decision in resolving the property dispute so that time and money is saved. Often the longer the dispute continues, the more money is lost to legal costs. The more that is spend arguing the dispute, the less there is for the parties in the end, as the equity of the property pool is unnecessarily wasted away. At the end of the day, it is in the best interests of both the parties to resolve their property dispute quickly and as cost effectively as possible, so you can both move forward and preserve the property pool instead of depleting it. 

Mediation can help parties resolve their dispute, The Wise Way. 

Mediation can be very successful, with on average 85% of disputes being settled by mediation. 

Mediation has a great success rate because the parties are each in control of resolving the dispute where with the help of the mediator, they work through the issues to come up with options that will best resolve the dispute and can be amicably agreed to by the parties. 

Since the parties are each ultimatley in control of the outcome, it is more likely the parties themselves know what is best for both of them to resolve the dispute so they can all move forward rather than having a decision that usually neither party like being imposed on them by a court. 

Mediation can help you both resolve your dispute quickly and cost effectively, often in as little a 1 day, so you can have peace of mind and certainty to move forward. 

The Mediation process is simple. 

A first party contacts Wise Mediation for more information about mediation and to see if their dispute is suitable for mediation. 

That’s easily done by hitting the “Contact Us” button on our Contact Us page. 

One of our Wise Mediatiors will contact you discuss mediation with you with an obligation free telephone call, to answer all your questions. 

Once you decide that you want to mediate, you simply let us know and we will do the rest to set up the mediation. 

First we will provide you with all the information you need to mediate, including an estimate of fees and an Agreement to Mediate. 

We will also do an intake process over the telephone with you, which is simply a discussion with one of our Wise Mediators with you to see what the dispute is and the issues that you see. This is a confidential process which we do not dislcose to the other party whta you say. 

We will then contact the other party and invite them to mediate with you, and we will also provide them with information about mediation and answer any questions they may have. 

If the invited party agrees to mediate, then we will also send them the estimate of fees and an Agreement to Mediate. ]

We will also do an intake process over the telephone with the invited party, and the assigned Wise Mediator will discuss with you what the dispute is and the issues that you see. This is also a confidential process which we do not disclose to the other party. 

Once the intake is done, Wise Mediations will then set up a mediation date and provide you each with alll the information you need to prepare for mediation. 

On mediation day, your Wise Mediator will to through the mediation process briefly with you before the mediation commences, so you know what to expect. 

If you both come to an agreement, then depending on the type of dispute, our Wise Mediator can provide you with a draft document of your agreement reached at mediation, such as a Parenting Plan, Parenting Orders by Consent draft, Property Orders by Consent draft or a Heads of Agreement draft and what steps you both need to take to formalise the agreement to make it legally binding. 

If you do not reach an agreement, then the mediation is concluded on that basis. 

The mediation process is quick and simple, let Wise Mediations help you resolve your dispute, The Wise Way. 

We can provide you with an estimate of the mediation fees, depending on your dispute type and what is required. 

The mediation fees are usually equally shared by the parties, that means that if there are 2 parties to the mediation, then each party pays a half share of the mediation fees as their share towards the costs of mediation. 

A full day mediation with a will cost you less than the cost for you to  hire a lawyer at the average daily rate. In fact, the cost for full day mediation less by half because you each pay a half share for the mediation fees. 

We will provide you an estimate of our mediation fees so that you can have the peace of mind knowing the exact costs of mediation before you decide to mediate. 

Contact us for an obligation-free estimate, and we can also answer any questions you may have about mediation. 

A Parenting Plan is a document that is used for parenting issues.

Bascially, it is an informal agreement between the parties as to how parenting arrangements and decisions for the children will be made for the future. 

It is a detailed document that covers all the issues relevant to parenting and as agreed to at mediation. 

A Parenting Plan is not filed with any court so it is not legally binding in the same sense as a court order, so a Parenting Plan cannot be breached and actionable like a court order. 

However a Parenting Plan can be used as evidence of an agreement in court in the event that a party does not honour the terms of the Parenting Plan. The party will not be held in breach, but the court is free to decide that the Parenting Plan terms are reasonable and should be made as a court order if the matter was to go to court. 

A Parenting Plan is good whereby it is a written agreement between the parties providing for the parenting of the children and how to make it best for the children, without being a court order. 

Sometimes all the parties need is a written agreement that they can both follow and to reduce any misunderstandings in the future. 

A Parenting Order by Consent is a document that is filed with Registry of the Family Court of Australia, which is sought to be made as a Parenting Order by Consent by the court Registrar, without the need for a hearing. 

It is what the parties both agree to for parenting issues and the parties are asking the Court Registrar to make the sought parenting order with the consent of both the parties. 

As long as the proposed Parenting Orders by Consent are in the best interests of the children, the Registrar will usually make the orders. 

If the Registrar requires any further information from the parties, a letter will be sent to each of the parties detailing any further information required from the parties. 

Once a Parenting Order by Consent is made, it has the full force of a court order and each party is required to comply with the court orders.

A Parenting Plan is an agreement in writing between the parents detailing the arrangements for the children with each parent such as which parent the child lives with and how the child spends time with each parent, communcation between parents and children, responsibility for the children, and how decisions are made for the children. 

A Parenting Plan is not a court order, it is not legally binding like a court order. 

A Parenting Order by Consent is a court order made by the Registrar of the Family Court of Australia at the mutual request of the parents as the applicants to the court. There is no court hearing, it is done via online electronic document lodgement or via the mail. 

A Parenting Order by Consent is a court order so each party is bound to the court order and can be in breach of the court order if they do not carry out the obligations of the court order. 

A Parenting Plan is. not a court order, so a party cannot be in breach of the Parenting Plan like a court order. 

However, if there was a future dispute and it was taken to court, a Parenting Plan could be relied on as evidence of the agreement between the parties and it may provide the basis for the orders sought from the court for parenting orders if required. 

A Property Order by Consent is a document draft that provides for a matrimonial property settlement and the terms of it. 

This document is filed with the Registry of the Family Court of Australia, seeking the Registrar of the Court to make the orders by consent of both the parties, without the need for a court hearing. 

A Heads of Agreement is a document that is drafted with details of the agreement reached at mediation, however it is not a legally binding document.

Instead, it is a document that is then used by the parties to obtain a binding document draft such as a Deed of Settlement for commercial settlements which will detail the exact contractual clauses required to settle the dispute, using the Heads of Agreement document as the agreed terms of settlement of the dispute. 

This is because commerical disputes usually require more in depth contracts to settle a dispute so that it is legally binding and specific on exact clauses in the settlement for legal purposes. 

For estate disputes, a Heads of Agreement document can be drafted at the conclusion of mediation with details of the agreement reached at mediation. The Heads of Agreement document can then be used by the parties to formalise the settlement by obtaininga Deed of Settlement Agreement or if the matter is in litigation through the courts, then an final order by consent to settle the estate dispute. Usually these documents are drafted by lawyers acting on behalf of the estate and executors and/or administrators of the estate. 

Yes. 

The beauty about mediation is that it is confidential. 

This means that the parties can freely discuss the issues without having to worrry that whatever they say may be used as evidence against them later in a court for example, or told to other people. 

Mediation is confidential and protected by the law to remain confidential. 

If a person tries to introduce what was said at medaition in to evidence in a court, the court will usually dismiss it as inadmissible evidence because it was obtained from a mediation. 

Yes. 

The first exception is to confidentiality is for serious matters that by law have mandatory reporting of serious child abuse, serious harm or imminent threat, however usually these types of disputes are deemed not suitable for the mediation process. The mandatory reqporting would be to the appropriate authorities as required by law. 

The second exception is any agreement reached at mediation is not confidential. It makes sense at any agreement needs to be disclosable so that that it can be written down in the form it requires and used as required to implement it, such as a Parenting Plan, Parenting Orders by Consent, Property Orders by Consent or Heads of Agreement. 

However, again, such agreements would be confidential whereby they cannot be published or given to unrelated third parties, and instead, only disclosed to third parties that are necessary to carry out the agreement. 

Yes. 

Our Wise Mediators are very experienced with the military and military members needs. 

We understand that military members and their families move around alot due to military postings in different locations across Australia and sometimes even overseas. 

We also understand that military members also need to go on military deployments and/or military exercises and how this may impact on issues such as parenting of children from military families, especially when there is a separation. 

Whether you are in the Australian Regular Army, Royal Australian Navy or Royal Australian Air Force, we can help you if you have recently separated and want to sort things out, The Wise Way, and mediate parenting and/or property disputes.

We are very experienced with the needs of military member families and can help draft a Parenting Plan or Parenting Orders by Consent document with terms that can deal with things such as military postings and time away from your posting location, so that it can work best for both parents and the children. 

We understand that military members may want to sort out their parenting and/or property dispute fast and practically. Our Wise Mediators can help separting or separated miltiary members and their spouses sort out a property settlement quickly and efficiently with mediation online with our modern securely encrypted mediation platform. 

Yes.

Our Wise Mediators are experienced with Fly-in and Fly-out (FIFO) worker families and their needs. 

We understand that FIFO workers have unusual work schedules with blocks of time of week on and then week off work rosters, and flying to remote locations for their work rotation roster, and how this may impact on parenting arrangements for the children, especially when there is a separation. 

We understand that for FIFO worker families that have recently separated that perhaps the usual arrangements for parenting the children may not work because of FIFO work rosters. 

Our Wise Mediators are experienced with FIFO worker family situations and can help FIFO worker families that have recently separated and want to sort out parenting issues, The Wise Way.

We can help you come up with ways to make it work and help draft a Parenting Plan or Parenting Orders by Consent document with terms that work in with FIFO worker roster requirements, so it can work best for both parents and the children. 

We can help you if you have recently separated and want to sort things out, The Wise Way, and mediate parenting and/or property disputes.

We understand that FIFO workers may want to sort out their parenting and/or property dispute fast and practically. Our Wise Mediators can help separting or separated FIFO workers and their spouses sort out a property settlement quickly and efficiently with mediation online with our modern securely encrypted mediation platform.