At Victoria Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS), the people delivering our child-inclusive services through our Kids Talk program are referred to as child consultants.
All child consultants at FDRS are experienced social science practitioners, trained to deliver child-inclusive services within the family dispute resolution process, under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). They are appointed to the FDRS Child Consultant panel.
What they do
If a case is referred for Kids Talk through the dispute resolution process, the child consultant works with the parents or carers, after meeting with their children, to share with them their children’s experience and support them to take a child-focused perspective, in preparation for the upcoming FDRS conference. This includes providing a written Kids Talk summary with a Kids Talk agenda.
They do not usually attend the conference.
Who they are
The professional backgrounds of our child consultants include social science and other tertiary fields, including law. Some child consultants are also registered family dispute resolution practitioners under the section 10A Accreditation Rules of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), some of whom are also on the FDRS Chairperson panel.
Meet our child consultants
Manager Johanna Wood, Kids Talk
Johanna is the Manager of the Kids Talk program, and has been with FDRS since 2004. Johanna is a social worker, child consultant, and registered family dispute resolution practitioner and has worked in a variety of roles at the FDRS. Throughout the almost 20-year history of the service, Johanna has been involved in the development of FDRS policy and processes that focus on and promote the needs and experiences of children and their families.
Ash Cole
Ash is an educator, social worker and child consultant. She was previously a case manager at FDRS. Ash has 15 years experience working with children and their families in health and education. She has training in family therapy and in trauma informed care. Ash currently works in disability inclusion and student wellbeing in an educational setting and as a social worker in a tertiary hospital, supporting young parents. She has been a member of the FDRS Child Consultant panel since 2022.
Charlotte Harvey
Charlotte is a social worker and family therapist. Since 2001, she has worked in a variety of statutory and non-statutory roles across state government, community services and in private practice. She has held roles conducting assessment, case management, counselling, family therapy and child consultancy, predominately working with children, young people and their families. Charlotte has trained in Working with Children, and Working with Parents through the International Centre for Children and Family Law. Charlotte is also a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and Australian Association of Family Therapists (AAFT). Charlotte has been a member of the FDRS Child Consultant panel since 2022.
Kathryn Gilligan
Kathryn is a social worker, with an extensive background in child protection both in Victoria and the United Kingdom. Kathryn has worked widely with children and adolescents of all ages and with families from diverse backgrounds. She is trained in child-inclusive practice, child welfare and development, and working with separated families. Kathryn joined the FDRS Child Consultant panel in 2022 and is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).
Michelle Myer
Michelle is a social worker, mediator and restorative engagement practitioner. Michelle has extensive experience working with children in hospital-based child protection services and over thirty years of work as a family report writer in the family law system. She has also had extensive experience as a restorative engagement facilitator for survivors of institutional abuse. She worked as a mediator at the Melbourne Children's Court for 13 years. Her passion for children's rights is also realised through her many years of experience in her role as a child consultant, as a member of the FDRS Child Consultant panel since 2016.
Bill Skoufis
Bill is a social worker, family consultant, chid consultant and family dispute resolution practitioner. Bill has worked in child protection and adoption services and as a counsellor with the Family Court of Australia for 30 years, providing counselling, mediation and family reports for the court. Bill also has a private practice where he conducts meditation and counselling for families and children. Bill joined the FDRS Child Consultant panel in 2016.
Liz Jenkins
Liz is a social worker who has a background in the child protection and family violence sectors. She was a family consultant in the family law courts and continued family report writing until 2016. She has been a registered family dispute resolution practitioner for more than 15 years and has been on the FDRS Child Consultant panel since since 2016.
Natasha Belmont
Natasha is a psychologist, accredited mediator, registered family dispute resolution practitioner, group facilitator and former lawyer. She has qualifications in law, psychology and training. She works with parents, families and children in the family services and dispute resolution sector as a practitioner and remains involved with training and supervising new and experienced professionals in the field. Natasha also has an appointment with the Victorian Restorative Engagement and Redress Scheme and is an expert panel member for the Department of Education’s Student Safety and Wellbeing panel. Natasha became a member of the FDRS Chairperson and Child Consultant panels in 2022.
Paul Ban
Paul is a social worker, family consultant, sessional mediator, trainer, consultant and expert witness and panel member for various agencies, including consultancy work with First Nations groups, and training nationally and internationally on family group conferencing. He has a background in child protection and child welfare and was a dispute resolution convenor at the Children’s Court of Victoria. He is a family consultant providing reports to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003 and the Child Consultant panel since 2007.
Walter Ibbs
Walter is a social worker, nationally accredited mediator and former family consultant at the Family Court of Australia who has worked as a practitioner, trainer, and manager in dispute resolution for decades. When the service started in 2003, he was one of the founding team members and has since held roles as clinical services coordinator, supervising consultant, and manager, regularly supervising mediators. Walter has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003 and the Child Consultant panel since 2007.
Rosa Silvestro
Rosa is a psychologist and collaborative law professional practitioner who has worked as a family counsellor/consultant for the family law courts, including as a child dispute services manager and dispute resolution coordinator, and in private practice, where she has continued to provide family reports for the courts. She is a trainer of family consultants and independent children’s lawyers and is also member of the FDRS Chairperson panel. Rosa has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson and Child Consultant panels since 2012.
Tony O’Dwyer
Tony is a family consultant, providing reports to the family law courts and working in private practice offering counselling and family therapy. He has worked in child protection as a dispute resolution convenor at the Children’s Court of Victoria and as a family group conference convenor and in corrections providing individual counselling to prisoners, particularly around drug-related offending behaviour. Tony has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003 and the Child Consultant panel since 2007.
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