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1. Introduction

Move On Mediation provides mediation services – specializing in family law mediation – in the Perth area.

Move On was established to help couples (whose marital or de facto relationships had broken down) to resolve ongoing arrangements regarding children and/or financial settlement. To assist them to avoid the cost, time and aggravation of the legal system and the Family Court. And at a reasonable cost – expressed as a fixed fee, not hourly rates.

Move On is owned by Ian Shann.

Ian has been a family lawyer since 1992 and has practised exclusively as a family mediator since 2016. He was accredited as a specialist family lawyer in 2005 and accredited in 2007 as a mediator under the national accreditation system (NMAS). He is also an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP).

Ian uses a “solution focus process” in family mediations. This process assumes that parties have the resources to find their own unique solutions to resolve conflict. The focus is on the future, not the past. To find outcomes that parties can live with and feel that they have not been unfairly treated.

Ian is always available to answer questions and queries about potential mediations and can be contacted by email (ian@moveon.com.au) or by phone or text (0418 928 448).

The offices of Move On Mediation are in North Fremantle (details on page 11).

2. What is Family Mediation?

Family mediation is a form of dispute resolution where parties sit together and attempt to resolve arrangements for the ongoing care of their children and/or for final settlement of their financial relationship. The intention of the process is to give parties the opportunity to discuss openly what they hope to achieve following separation and arrive at a resolution that is acceptable to both. A degree of compromise is almost
always required. Any agreement that parties reach must be in accoerdance with the requirements of the family law.

Parenting arrangements agreed between parties are not legally enforceable unless they are approved by the Family Court as Consent Orders – so family mediation is a way of arriving at legally binding agreements without the costs and stress of a contested court process.

In children’s orders some form of alternative dispute resolution must be undertaken before parties can start proceedings in the Family Court.

Any agreement between parties about financial arrangements can only be legalized if the proposals are formally approved by the Family Court as Court Orders. Family mediation allows parties to do this. (There is an exception regarding Binding Financial Agreements – BFA’s – see page 4).

Family mediation encourages parties to sort out how they want their financial separation to be done – who gets what and when – without a fight in Court. The mediator assists them to understand the options, possibilities and consequences of their respective proposals to finalise matters.

Where agreement is reached at mediation, Move On will draft up the terms of that agreement in a form acceptable to the Family Court. Parenting Plans (which have different legal consequences to a Consent Order made by the Family Court) can also be prepared.

3. What are the alternatives to family mediation?

There are several alternatives to family mediation for finalising post separation arrangements:

  • Arbitration
  • Binding Financial Agreements (BFA’s)
  • Reach agreements independently
  • Commence action in the Family Court
  • Do nothing

Arbitration

Arbitration is available only in financial matters but is an alternative where parties want to accept an independent third party’s decision about how their finances should be separated. Pros: you get finality; Cons: can’t do children’s matters, expensive, someone else makes the decisions, time consuming and you will need to use a lawyer.

BFA’s

Also available to resolve financial matters only but can be useful, especially where the proposed arrangements might not be acceptable as reasonable under the family law. Each party must have independent certified legal advice before signing. Pros: finality; Cons: expensive, may lead to further conflict when legal advice received, don’t resolve children’s issues.

Reach agreement independently

You and your ex could reach an agreement by yourselves and document it and sign it. Unfortunately, such an agreement is scarcely worth the paper it’s written on as it will have no legally enforceable or binding effect in children’s matters and it won’t finalise your financial relationship.

Pros: simple and inexpensive.
Cons: of no legal effect, parties can ignore terms, doesn’t finalise financial relationship.

Do nothing

Nothing will change.

4. What family mediation can not do

Family mediation cannot resolve issues regarding child support or ongoing financial arrangements for your children – this can only be done through the Child Support Agency.

Financial support for your children can be discussed at family mediation but no legally binding provision can be made through Consent Orders. You can stipulate what you hope the position will be – for instance, that you will both contribute equally to the children’s extra curricular or education costs – but these “agreements” can not be enforced through the Family Court and will have moral effect only.

Consent Orders made through family mediation must also comply with the provisions of the family law and be reasonable and equitable. Therefore, you will not be able to make legally binding agreements that have not taken into account the relevant factors of contribution (including non-financial contribution) and future needs.

5. How does the mediation process work?

  • Where Move On receives an enquiry about family mediation, relevant information is provided to enable parties to decide whether this service is what they are looking for.
  • If parties wish to proceed, they either direct Move on to set up the mediation or to request the other party to take part in the mediation.
  • Where the other party will not participate, mediation will not take place. And Move On will issue a Certificate in children’s matters to enable the requesting party to commence proceedings in the Family Court.
  • Where it is agreed that mediation shall proceed a date for the mediation is set and documents are sent to all parties. Parties are invoiced the agreed fixed fee.
  • Separate and confidential intake sessions are then held with each party to enable them to explain the facts and what they hope to achieve from the mediation. The mediator then has an opportunity to understand the background and parties’ expectations.
  • The mediation is then conducted and, if successful, the mediator prepares draft documents for submission to the Family Court. In some circumstances, parties may request a Parenting Plan.
  • Documents are submitted by the parties by application to the Family Court and Final Orders are issued and the matter is completed.

6. How long does the family mediation process take?

  • A mediation date is usually scheduled within 2-3 weeks of the date upon which both parties have agreed to participate.
  • Intake sessions are usually held within 2-3 days prior to the mediation so that the exchanges of information are fresh in the minds of parties when they attend the mediation. • The joint session of the mediation will take anywhere between 1 hour and 6 hours, depending on the complexity of the issues.
  • Documents are usually drafted and emailed to all parties within 24 hours of the finalization of a successful mediation. It is then up to the parties to confirm the terms of the agreement. Within 48 hours those agreements will be sent to all parties with instructions for filing in the Family Court.
  • At any stage parties may seek independent legal advice as to the terms of the agreements and will not be bound by them until the documents are properly signed and filed in the Family Court.
  • The Family Court may take anything from 2 weeks to 3 months to approve proposed Consent Orders and this timing is not within the control of Move On. Once published by the Court, Orders become legally binding and enforceable.

7. What outcomes might I expect from Family Mediation?

There are three possible outcomes at family mediation:

  1. complete agreement is reached on all issues;
  2. partial agreement is reached and/or agreement is reached on one, but not both of, children’s and financial issues;
  3. no agreements are reached.

Where complete agreement is reached documents are then prepared and submitted to the Family Court and the matter is finished. A financial settlement at family law must include all of the assets and liabilities of the parties, not simply some of them.

Where only partial or incomplete agreement is reached the parties may agree to participate in a further session to iron out difficulties or differences or they may decide to make application to the Family Court and argue the issues that cannot be agreed.

If parties are unable to agree matters at mediation their options become very limited:

  1. commence proceedings in the Family Court (which may take years to resolve and will certainly cost at least tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees) or
  2. do nothing and the issues remain unresolved.

8. What are the fees for Family Mediation?

Move On has a fixed fee policy which means:

  • all fees are quoted in advance;
  • the quoted fee covers all of the process from start to finish;
  • where there is a charge for a preliminary item (such as a request to mediate) that will be credited against any future fees;
  • there will be no additions that have not been fully disclosed up front; and
  • there is no charge for the amount of time spent on your matter.

The fixed fees are as follows (plus GST in all cases):

Request to other party to participate in mediation $250
Section 60I Certificate $350
Mediation of children’s OR financial issues $2,500
Mediation of BOTH children’s and financial issues $2,750

Mediation fees are usually payable one week prior to the date for the joint session.

Cancellation fees may apply where a mediation is postponed or cancelled prior to the agreed date.

9. What can I expect from Move On Mediation?

When you engage Move On this is what to expect:

  • a nationally qualified mediator with over 30 years of relevant experience and expertise.
  • someone with real life experience in the Family Court process to help find practical and workable solutions.
  • a mediator finding solutions through a solution-focus process, not a lawyer looking to prolong matters.
  • prompt service – intake sessions within a fortnight and a mediation date within, at most, a month; documents prepared and returned within a day or so, not weeks or months.
  • reasonable and fixed fees – compare our fees with any other private mediation service with comparable experience and qualifications
  • practical and sensible advice – with a focus on solutions not about who is right and wrong or to blame.
  • access to the relevant information from Ian Shann’s book, “Know Where You Stand” – a practical guide.
  • a practical guide to filing your agreements as Consent Orders the Family Court to make the agreement final, legally binding and enforceable – so you have certainty and can get on with your life.
  • sensible and comprehensive Parenting Plans where required.
  • a proven track record – a very high proportion of matters are settled by agreement at the first mediation session.

10. Where is Move On Mediation located?

11. What next?

If you wish to engage Move On Mediation to undertake family mediation, please complete the Information Form at this link and Move On will process your mediation further.

If you want to obtain further specific information, please direct your enquiry with the specific questions to: ian@moveon.com.au or text to 0418 928 448.

If you wish to discuss issues in person with Ian Shann, please text a message to 0418 928 448 and advise what dates and times might be convenient for a meeting.

Testimonials

Helping people through difficult times

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The process was so much quicker and easier than I anticipated – after everything I have heard about lawyers! And it was re-assuring for me to know how much it was going to cost at the start, not when it was all over. Thanks, Ian. I’d recommend you to anyone who wants a solution seeker and quick results.

— Bree F, Fremantle WA

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Ian, your patience and persistence really helped us get to an agreement I thought we could never reach. I’d recommend you to anyone who wants to get family issues resolved as painlessly as possible.

— Michael G, Safety Bay WA

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Thank you once more for your kindness, wisdom and counsel.

— Georgie N, Wangara WA

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Ian worked hard to enable us to reach an agreement. He was always happy to discuss and explain everything we needed.

— Cathy & Steve, Subiaco WA