Mediation...the low cost alternative to expensive court cases!

Our aim...to keep conflict away from the children, keep resources within the family & keep everyone out of court!

Find out if you qualify for mediation

WHy choose us...

Save Up To 90% On Legal Fees

Pay in 2 Easy Installments

Never See Your Ex Throughout The Process

What is Mediation?

Family Mediation Hub is more affordable for your separation because you don’t need to go to court to organise your children or property matters.
 
Mediation is a term that we use to describe services that are tailored to help families involved in disputes about children/parenting arrangements and property settlement.  It is aimed at reaching an agreement without proceeding to any type of court or litigation and involves several hours of discussion and mediation with an accredited facilitator.  The Family Mediation Hub always encourages settlement particularly where children are involved and does not condone or support any type of violence or aggression.

 

Mediation is an opportunity for the parties to sit down for up to 3 hours duration and discuss the issue in dispute in the presence of a mediator who is nationally accredited and authorised by the Attorney General’s Department to issue a certificate under the Family Law Act.

 

If you feel that you may be intimidated or worried about mediating in the presence of the other party, we can discuss this with you during our intake assessment.  If you would still like to proceed to mediate, there are options available including a shuttle mediation whereby you would not be required to sit in the same room as the other party.  We can discuss this with you at the initial intake during our phone call with you.

WHO IS MEDIATION FOR?

Separated Couples wanting to resolve family or property disputes

Grandparents wanting to see grandchildren

Same sex de facto relationships wanting to resolve family or property disputes

WHAT CAN MEDIATION HELP WITH?

  • Work out arrangements to see the children
  • Arrangements in relation to other children’s matters such as issue of passports, change of school
  • To alter arrangements to see the children as things change or update after separation
  • Arrangements for finances after separation including settlement arrangements for sale of property or transfer of property
  • Arrangements for any other property matter after the break down of a relationship
  • Arrangements for child support or other ongoing financial support

BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

The benefits of mediation are many but the main benefit is that it does prevent the need for any type of costly litigation and gives the parties an opportunity to discuss their issues in the presence of the trained mediator in the hope to reach an agreement without resorting to legal expenses.

Many parties see lawyers and get advice before they attend mediation. Some parties prefer to have lawyers present at the mediation which is acceptable. In a vast majority of cases, parties simply attend the mediation themselves with the mediator present and then have any agreement reached able to be discussed with their lawyer following the mediation if they are concerned.
Book in a CONFIDENTIAL, No Obligation FREE Assessment of your Matter

CLient stories

  • Sam had been separated for 2 years and had initially consulted a lawyer. His ex wife also consulted a lawyer and at first they exchanged financial information and started to get a valuation of the property. The property prices then started to decrease and the parties were concerned about increasing legal fees. Sam then tried to approach his ex wife directly and they had a general discussion about him purchasing her interest in the property. Both parties had already been advised of what they were entitled to. Sam and his ex wife then started emailing each other but unfortunately they were unable to reach a final agreement. There was a sticking point in relation to the final payment to his ex wife as well as a super split. Sam then found out about mediation and both of them attended the mediation. Sam agreed to pay for the mediation initially and his ex wife agreed that her one half fee could be deducted from the final settlement payment. The parties attended the mediation for 3 hours and reached a full and final agreement. Sam then agreed that he would go back to his lawyer to have that agreement drawn up which was at a discounted rate as his lawyer was simply confirming the agreement that they had reached and making it legal for them. His ex wife did not use a lawyer and signed the documents prepared by Sam’s lawyer. Sam was able to then purchase her interest in the property and the matter was resolved.

    - Sam

  • Belinda consulted The Family Mediation Hub as she had arrangements in place for the past 12 months for the father to see the children for 2 nights a fortnight and he had been emailing her requesting to see them for 7 nights a fortnight (shared care). Belinda felt bombarded by his emails and was not agreeable for the children to have such a dramatic increase in arrangements to see their father. Belinda had consulted a lawyer and received advice about what is likely to happen if the father went to court and she was in agreement for him to see the children more often but not the amount that he had indicated. Belinda then found out about The Family Mediation Hub and her preference was to discuss an increase in his time but in line with what they both felt was best for the children. After the 3 hours mediation the parties reach a final agreement and the father was seeing the children 4 nights a fortnight as well as some additional time for dinner in the off week. Both parties agreed they did not need lawyers to confirm the agreement and were happy just to start following the agreement themselves. Belinda was very happy to save legal fees and was able to negotiate directly with her ex husband in relation to the children.

    - BELINDA

WE ARE RECOGNISED

Our centres provide specialist family dispute resolution services by practitioners that are nationally accredited by the Attorney General’s Department and are therefore able to issue a S60I certificate in family law matters.

Children’s Family Dispute Resolution

These sessions are to focus on children’s matters only. The parties are present with the mediator. We provide up to three hours of mediation. We offer a S60I certificate after completion of the mediation.

Property Mediation Services

The second option available involves the parties, the mediator and the parties bringing their lawyers for up to 3 hours mediation. These usually discuss financial as well as parenting arrangements.

satisfied clients

I would just like to say a big thank you to The Family Mediation Hub in assisting us to negotiate a mediation with arrangements to see my grandchildren. We had been involved in an argument for over six months that was very distressing for everyone. Their care and compassion in both talking to me initially on the phone (with lots of emotion) and then proceeding to mediate with my son was a great outcome in the circumstances. Thank you again and a big thank you to Marie for her compassion over the phone on the first day.
Mr & Mrs P
Can I just say thank you for helping to arrange a mediation. We have been separated for two years and I didn’t really want to go back to a lawyer as I knew exactly what I wanted to propose but my ex wife needed some motivation to get going.
After mediation we reached an agreement and I just returned to my lawyer to get everything drawn up. I have now kept the home and purchased her out and things are going a lot better with the kids. Thanks again.
Michael
Wow thank you so much. I have left mediation and I have made the final payment. It was the best $880.00 ever. We worked out the arrangements for the kids and I was able to get him to pay half and we are now able to travel on holidays as well. Thanks again I will certainly be using you guys in future for any further issues.
Sam

HOW IT WORKS

01 Have a FREE 15min chat to find out if your matter qualifies for mediation
02 Complete booking form to start the process
03 Deposit Paid
04 Both parties complete a questionnaire
05 Final payment required 48 hours prior to mediation
06 Mediation takes place – it can occur via telephone, Zoom link up, face to face or via shuttle mediation. A shuttle mediation is one where the parties do not sit in the same room but the mediator is at the same location and goes from room to room or from telephone to telephone so the parties are never directly interacting with each other.
07 After mediation if an agreement is reached, the mediator will confirm the agreement with the parties. They are then open to approach a solicitor to have this drawn up legally or the parties can simply continue along with the agreement that they have reached at mediation.
Book a FREE 15min Chat

Frequently asked questions

Mediation is not currently compulsory for any separated couples other than those attempting to negotiate parenting arrangements and only in certain circumstances.  We suggest that you contact The Family Mediation Hub for a confidential free 15 minute chat to determine if your matter is eligible.  Certainly there is no requirement for both parties to currently attend, however, it is highly recommended as it is a very cost effective way to mediate an agreement without proceeding to legal fees or litigation.
As we have indicated you cannot make the other party agree but it is certainly worthwhile to take those initial steps even if you think they may refuse to explore the option of mediation in the first instance as it is a very cost effective way to try and get an agreement and there is only an initial admin fee charged rather than a full fee in the event the other party does not participate.
Generally speaking, both parties should equally meet the cost of mediation.  However, in many situations if one party wants to mediate and the other is reluctant because of funding particularly where they are not working or were the stay at home parent, then one party sometimes does meet the full cost.  This is a matter between the parties themselves and generally the requirement is that each would pay half.
No, we can complete a shuttle mediation. A shuttle mediation is one where the parties do not sit in the same room but the mediator is at the same location and goes from room to room or from telephone to telephone so the parties are never directly interacting with each other.
As in many situations in family law issues, sometimes the parties reach a full and final agreement at mediation and the other party then changes their mind.  It would then be recommended that if mediation is not appropriate for a second instance then consult legal representatives to talk about your options in the legal process outside of the mediation arena.  Obviously, to attempt mediation first is always the best outcome rather than jumping straight to expensive legal fees.
Many people leave the mediation just with their own agreement that can be reduced to writing if necessary.  If the parties leave with a property agreement, we always suggest that you then consult a lawyer to have this agreement drawn up legally.  This is a far cheaper option to have it drawn up after you have reached the agreement rather than have a lawyer negotiate on your behalf.  Please contact The Family Mediation Hub if you have any further questions about what options are available after mediation.  We note mediators are trained in mediation. They do not give legal advice but they can certainly assist you to reach an agreement.
The short answer is no. Both parties can mediate with or without a lawyer present. If parties agree to mediate without lawyers, we do recommend they obtain legal advice as to their rights and entitlements before mediation. However, this is not compulsory.
We have centres available at Richmond in the Hawkesbury area or Parramatta in Western Sydney and we do not charge a fee for the use of our centres.  If you do wish to mediate at other areas or locations throughout Sydney, there will be a small fee for the use of the room if appropriate and this can be discussed with you at the time of the booking.
Mediation is not currently compulsory for any separated couples other than those attempting to negotiate parenting arrangements and only in certain circumstances.  We suggest that you contact The Family Mediation Hub for a confidential free 15 minute chat to determine if your matter is eligible.  Certainly there is no requirement for both parties to currently attend, however, it is highly recommended as it is a very cost effective way to mediate an agreement without proceeding to legal fees or litigation.
As we have indicated you cannot make the other party agree but it is certainly worthwhile to take those initial steps even if you think they may refuse to explore the option of mediation in the first instance as it is a very cost effective way to try and get an agreement and there is only an initial admin fee charged rather than a full fee in the event the other party does not participate.
Generally speaking, both parties should equally meet the cost of mediation.  However, in many situations if one party wants to mediate and the other is reluctant because of funding particularly where they are not working or were the stay at home parent, then one party sometimes does meet the full cost.  This is a matter between the parties themselves and generally the requirement is that each would pay half.
No, we can complete a shuttle mediation. A shuttle mediation is one where the parties do not sit in the same room but the mediator is at the same location and goes from room to room or from telephone to telephone so the parties are never directly interacting with each other.
As in many situations in family law issues, sometimes the parties reach a full and final agreement at mediation and the other party then changes their mind. It would then be recommended that if mediation is not appropriate for a second instance then consult legal representatives to talk about your options in the legal process outside of the mediation arena. Obviously, to attempt mediation first is always the best outcome rather than jumping straight to expensive legal fees.
Many people leave the mediation just with their own agreement that can be reduced to writing if necessary. If the parties leave with a property agreement, we always suggest that you then consult a lawyer to have this agreement drawn up legally. This is a far cheaper option to have it drawn up after you have reached the agreement rather than have a lawyer negotiate on your behalf. Please contact The Family Mediation Hub if you have any further questions about what options are available after mediation. We note mediators are trained in mediation. They do not give legal advice but they can certainly assist you to reach an agreement.
The short answer is no. Both parties can mediate with or without a lawyer present. If parties agree to mediate without lawyers, we do recommend they obtain legal advice as to their rights and entitlements before mediation. However, this is not compulsory.
We have centres available at Richmond in the Hawkesbury area or Parramatta in Western Sydney and we do not charge a fee for the use of our centres. If you do wish to mediate at other areas or locations throughout Sydney, there will be a small fee for the use of the room if appropriate and this can be discussed with you at the time of the booking.

Contact US

Book a FREE 15min Chat