FDR Mediation

Having conflicting ideas about the ‘care and contact’ arrangements for your children can be extremely stressful, and may feel impossible to resolve. We are here to help.

For parenting and guardianship disputes, the FDR Centre offers fully and partially funded FDR Mediation, Voice of the Child (Child Inclusive Mediation), Preparation for Mediation (Conflict and Communication Coaching), and Counselling.

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average number of days an FDR Mediation takes with FDR Centre

Find out more about FLAS

Looking for legal advice? You may be entitled to access the Ministry of Justice Family Legal Advice Service (FLAS).

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Misguided affection

Written by Richard Pidgeon In Peeling v Gordon [2023] NZFC 2857, an aunt sought to become her niece and nephew’s cultural adviser under the Care of Children Act 2004, after a failed attempt to have contact with them. This application was struck out as an abuse of the...

Child support to become fairer for sole parent beneficiaries from 1 July 2023

By Kate Holland Changes announced last week as part of the 2022 budget will affect how child support is paid to parents who receive a benefit at the sole parent rate. Starting 1 July 2023, child support payments will be passed on in full to these parents without the...

How To Stay Calm During Difficult Conversations

No-one really likes difficult conversations. But they are everywhere. They can be at work, the dentists’ office (it cost how much?!), the hairdressers (uh, yes, it looks great!) and of course, at home. The conversations are all floating out there, always waiting for...

A child’s right to participate in family dispute proceedings

A child's right to participate in family dispute proceedings is recognised in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and has been given effect to in legislation such as the Care of Children Act 2004 (COCA). The recently passed Family Court (Supporting Children...

Grandparents and FDR Mediation

By Hannah Aziz. It is widely recognised that grandparents play an important role in the lives of their grandchildren. When family disputes arise, grandparents can often feel left out in the cold and unsure of their legal options, or what access they may have to...

Bill to better support children in the Family Court passes third reading by a majority!

By Maria Cole. In a recent Beehive press release the Justice Minister announced that the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill (the Bill) has passed its third reading and is set to come into law. Justice Minister Faafoi said “The Bill will...

Penalties and child support – What the new law means for you

The child support scheme affects approximately 135,000 carers, 166,000 liable parents and 185,000 qualifying children. In 2019 it was reported that there was $2.2 billion in child support debt. A crippling $1.6 billion of this debt was penalties, which meant only $558...

FAQ’S – Penalties and child support – What the 2021 law changes mean

Following the 2021 changes to child support laws, there are potentially significant changes to the way liable parents are now exposed to penalties under the child support regime. We have created a series of FAQs with answers to help understand the changes. When do the...

Tips for Managing the Shared Care of Children During the Covid-19 Lockdown Period – part 2

Tips for Managing the Shared Care of Children During the Covid-19 Lockdown Period – part 2 Self-care, finances and working co-operatively Your personal health and safety is important You must take care of yourself in order to care for your children. ...

The Brain Science of Conflict

Yesterday, we at the FDR Centre were delighted to co-host with NZDRC two sessions with Kathryn Berkett learning all about the neuroscience behind conflict. Sounds complicated? Luckily Kathryn is absolutely brilliant at communicating the science in a completely...

Giving children a voice in FDR Mediation

By Catherine Green, Executive Director FDR Centre Since early 2015, the FDR Centre has been offering child inclusive FDR Mediation, where children have the opportunity to share their views with a Child Inclusion Specialist, who attends the mediation in the...

Understanding anger and high conflict personality

By Nicola Hartfield Nicola Hartfield, mediator and workplace mentor, discusses how anger influences certain personality types and the importance of understanding and managing anger to better engage with clients in stressful situations. While engagement and...

Family Justice Reform Consultation

The Family Justice Reform panel has released its second consultation paper which examines the 2014 family justice reforms. The panel’s research has shown that for those who have engaged in FDR, it can be a ‘quick, affordable and effective process’. They...

Mediation power imbalances: weighing the arguments

- by Nigel Dunlop It is commonly said that power imbalances in mediation render it unfair. The image is conjured up of a hapless party being cajoled into an unfavourable settlement by a more powerful party. Better to go to court, it is said, where...