Section 60I Certificate - Parenting Mediation Certificates for Family Court.
Mediation is a process of assisting participants to resolve issues in a non-litigious way. Giving the participants the opportunity for self-determination of their matters with the assistance of an accredited mediator. There are several reasons why mediation might not go ahead as planned and in some circumstances, mediation becomes inappropriate later in the piece. If mediation becomes inappropriate the one other common avenue is taking the matter to the Family Courts. A certificate would need to be issued by an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner based on the circumstances of the case and the practitioner’s discretion as set out under s60I (8) Family Law Act 1975 and as highlighted below:
Where one participant initiates mediation and the other decides that they do not want to attend, either by direct communication or indirectly, by not showing up to sessions, a certificate may be issued. The certificate will say that one participant could not attend mediation due to the failure of the other participant to attend. The wording of this certificate can be confusing and if in doubt, do not hesitate to contact a mediator to clarify.
At the assessment stage, mediation can be deemed to be inappropriate at the onset. This is often done after seeing both participants for their intake/assessments. This is where matters come up that the mediator perceives to be of grave concern as set out under reg 25 (2) Family Law (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners) Regulations 2008. In that case, a certificate will be issued. The mediator would have come to the conclusion that the matters are likely to be best dealt with in the Family Court.
Mediation can be assessed as suitable in the first instance and the mediation process might commence, however during the process similar grave concerns, under reg 25 (2) Family Law(FDRP) Regulations 2008, might come to light and the mediator might decide that mediation has become unsuitable and that it can no longer continue and should be stopped. Participants will receive a certificate that indicates mediation has become inappropriate.
Mediation participants might attempt to mediate and might come in with all the best intentions to reach a resolution but, in some cases, an agreement is not reached or partial agreements are reached. A certificate can be issued for the broad matters that the participants failed to reach an agreement on. The certificate will indicate that participants have made a ‘genuine effort’ to resolve the matters.
On the contrary, where parties show complete disregard for the mediation process and attend with no intent to at least attempt to resolve the matters, this might leave the mediator with no other choice but to issue a ‘no-genuine effort’ certificate. This seldom happens, but it can happen.
The type of certificate issued by the FDRP is important when an application is made in the Family courts as the courts might consider the certificate issued in determining whether to order Family Dispute Resolution or in awarding costs against a party. s60I Family Law Act 1975
A certificate will only be issued by the FDRP within 12 months after the last mediation session or attempted mediation session in line with reg 26 Family Law(FDRP) Regulations 2008.
Please find section 60i Information sheet here
To find out more details about parenting mediation please do not hesitate to give us a ring at Family Intermediary on 08 6102 0666. We will be happy to answer any of your questions
Disclaimer: The contents of this blog constitute information only, as at the date of publication.