Participation, agreement and reduced acrimony in mandatory family dispute resolution: Benefits for ambivalent clients

In Australia, it is mandatory for separating couples to attempt to resolve their parenting disputes using family dispute resolution (FDR) before initiating court proceedings. It is not uncommon, therefore, for some clients to attend FDR with the belief that upon attempting FDR, they will proceed to court.

Our latest research summary reports on the outcomes of our recent study into the participation, rates of agreement, and levels of satisfaction and acrimony for separating couples who are ‘ambivalent’ about attending FDR.

Amongst all 704 participants, there were strong rates of participation, agreement, and satisfaction with FDR. Parents who were ambivalent about attending FDR and expected to go to court, however, still gained benefits from participating in the service. These included significantly reduced acrimony, regardless of whether an agreement was reached, as well as satisfaction with the process. Notably, more than half of participants reached agreements on at least one matter.