Fast-tracking Family Dispute Resolution Service conferences

Moving cases through our family dispute resolution process as soon as possible means we can support clients to resolve their issues as soon as they can, whether a conference is booked or a decision is made that it is not appropriate for mediation.

We have recently experienced some unnecessary delays due to incomplete applications and late notification of impending court dates.

To assist you and your clients, we’ve compiled some tips to help us progress your Family Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) applications and cases in the most efficient way.

Why providing the right information at the right time makes a difference

The more information you provide at the application stage, the more efficiently we can manage the application and triage management of the case.

When we are notified that a grant has come through, FDRS often has no information about the current status of a case. It may be at litigation stage, with a pending court hearing, or the court may have ordered that the parties attend family dispute resolution with FDRS within a specific time frame.

If lawyers don’t provide this information, FDRS will follow the usual process and write to each party, seeking to confirm agreement to mediation and allowing time for a response. We provide information about issuing a certificate if there is no response.

If parties have an urgent hearing or have been ordered by a court to attend an FDRS conference, this usual process can create unnecessary delays.

If we are advised at the application stage that attendance at FDRS is court-ordered or urgent, we can move it through case management more quickly.

Time frames

Once a grant of aid comes through to FDRS, our time frames are generally eight weeks until conference booking. This time frame can vary. We can prioritise urgent cases if necessary. Sometimes, there may be delays because an invited party is seeking legal representation, or we are waiting for a report to be provided.

When lawyers provide information to us at the earliest stage, we can triage effectively.

Tips to progress your FDRS case more effectively

• Provide your client’s full name, date of birth, email, phone number and street address, and under ‘Other Parties’, provide the other party or parties in the legal aid application/ATLAS. (If we don’t have email, phone number and street address for those other parties, we may need to close the file.)
• If your client needs legal assistance for Stage 2H litigation intervention, select ‘no’ under ‘Court hearings’ in the legal aid application (ATLAS). By selecting ‘no’ you will then be able to select the appropriate FDRS grant. You will be asked more questions about court hearings at this point.
• If it is court-ordered FDR, be clear when you apply for a grant if it is for a:
  • court-based family dispute resolution conference (what has been referred to as a DRC) or
  • VLA FDRS conference.
• Email any relevant family court and family violence intervention orders to fdrs@vla.vic.gov.au.

More information

If you have any questions about legal assistance for FDRS conferences, please email our Grants team at grants@vla.vic.gov.au or call 03 9269 0600.

If you have any questions about FDRS process or practice or have feedback, please email us at fdrs@vla.vic.gov.au or call 03 9269 0500.

Learn more about our Family Dispute Resolution Service.