Family dispute resolution: A mandatory step before family court proceedings
In Australia, family dispute resolution is mandatory before issuing proceedings in family law courts. This is because there is a legal requirement to include a Section 60I certificate to your court documents. This certificate which can only be issued by an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner, demonstrates to the court, that you have made a genuine effort to resolve your dispute through a non-adversarial manner seeking the Court’s intervention. This is what the courts truly want – to be the last resort.
Whilst there are several types of Section 60I certificates available, there are also certain conditions by law that exempt you from having one, meaning you can apply to the court directly without one. If however, you don’t fall into the exempt category and still try to apply to the courts, they can knock back your application, order you to attend family dispute resolution by a Judge or you can also be ordered to pay the other party’s legal fees.
This is why the family laws courts aim to encourage individuals to obtain a Section 60I certificate through family dispute resolution to show the court that:
The parties attempted to engage with each other to explore potential resolutions outside of a courtroom setting with an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner.
The parties aimed to alleviate the family law courts by considering that their case could potentially be resolved out of court.
The parties demonstrated their commitment to work together to prioritise the best interests of any children involved, whilst also aiming to minimising the emotional and financial costs associated with litigation.
The requirement for a Section 60I certificate aims to provide parties with an incentive and opportunity to resolve their own matters. Whether your matter is successful or not at mediation, the court will give consideration to your Section 60I certificate recognising that you did try to discuss resolve things between yourselves, but unfortunately it did not work out.
Ultimately, while mediation may not always lead to a resolution, the Section 60I certificate serves as evidence to the court of the parties' commitment to finding fair and sustainable outcomes for everyone involved.
