Implications for family dispute resolution practice: Response from Relationships Australia (Victoria) to the Allegations of Family Violence and Child Abuse in Family Law Children's Proceedings report

Allegations of Family Violence and Child Abuse in Family Law Children's Proceedings illustrates how prevalent family violence allegations are in court proceedings. It is argued that the family dispute resolution (FDR) sector is also experiencing increased family violence presentations, and that many family-violence-affected clients are now passing through FDR services on their way to the court system. It is therefore critical that FDR services and practitioners deliver high-quality assessment, referral and, where appropriate, dispute resolution services to this client group. It is concerning that the court outcomes are not responsive to cases where family violence allegations are not corroborated. In some cases, the non-adversarial and confidential nature of FDR may be better equipped to elicit acknowledgement of family violence and produce appropriately modified and safe outcomes. This will require FDR practitioners to be more advisory, less neutral and, at times, to take responsibility for the safety of outcomes. For the majority of cases where the court processes are the more appropriate arena to determine outcomes, the courts need to be equipped to properly respond to family violence allegations. This may require the forensic capacity of the courts to be enhanced and/or for a number of existing initiatives to be expanded and resourced.