Working with First Nations families

Supporting families to resolve disputes

Our Family Dispute Resolution Service can help with family law disputes, in both children’s and property cases. Our focus is on children and their best interests. Our goal is for children to maintain relationships with important people in their lives and to their culture.

We support families to manage separation issues. We can help with things like referrals or finding legal assistance, leading to better outcomes for children. We aim for decisions to be made by parents and carers rather than a judge in court. Dispute resolution is very effective if accessed at an early stage.

Providing culturally secure and safe dispute resolution

We acknowledge that First Nations communities experience significant disadvantage. For many reasons, including past and present injustices, First Nations people may be reluctant to use legal and government services. There are many reasons for this reluctance. We understand that communities may have complex legal needs that are not being met.

Our goal is to provide family dispute resolution that is culturally safe and secure for all families. This framework helps guide our services and approach. We will continue to review and implement the framework and welcome feedback on it and our services, including from Aboriginal-controlled services we work with, like Djirra and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.