The Idea of Family Relationship Centres in Australia

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12020
• Date: 01 April 2013
• Author: Patrick Parkinson
• Published date: 01 April 2013

SPECIAL ISSUE:AUSTRALIA’S FAMILY RELATIONSHIP CENTRES

THE IDEA OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIP CENTRES IN AUSTRALIA

Patrick Parkinson

Family Relationship Centres formed the centrepiece of major reforms to the family law system in Australia which were

introduced from 2006 onwards. They wereestablished all over the country between 2006 and 2008, providing information and

advice and offering free or heavily subsidised mediation of parenting disputes.They are an early intervention strategy to help

parents manage the transition from parenting together to parenting apart in the aftermath of separation, and are intended to lead

to significant cultural change in the resolution of post-separation parenting disputes.They also play a role in strengthening intact

family relationships (mainly through advice and referral). This article explains the concept of Family Relationship Centres and

how they operate. It also explains the background to their developmentand how the idea came to be accepted by the Australian

Government.

Key Points for the Family Court Community

•Describes the concept of the Australian Family Relationship Centres

•A community-centric, rather than court-centric, approach to resolving issues of parenting after separation

•Early indications of success include a decline of about 32% in the number of children’s cases filed in Australia overa

five year period.

Keywords: Custody;Dispute Resolution;Family Counseling;Family Law;Mediation;Parenting;and Visitation.

1.WHAT ARE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP CENTRES?

Family Relationship Centres (FRCs), are community-based services in Australia, funded by the

Australian Government, which seek to provide support to parents going through family difficulties,in

particular, those who have either separated from the other parent or whoare contemplating separation.

FRCs provide information, advice, referral and mediation. There are 65 centres all over the country,

with one servicing approximately every 300,000 of the population. They operate both in major cities

and regional areas. FRCs are also required to provide outreach services to regional population centres

and larger towns within their area, beyond the actual location of the Centre. FRCs are relatively new,

with the first fifteen of them being established only in 2006.

At the same time as FRCs were established, a national telephone service to provide information,

advice and referral on family relationship issues was also developed. This is known as the Family

Relationship Advice Line. In addition, a website providing information about family relationship

issues and services was set up. A telephone dispute resolution service, for those who are unable to

access a FRC personally, has been operative since July 2007 (Thomson, 2011). There is also a

telephone legal information and advice service, staffed by legal practitioners, that can provide free

legal information and basic legal advice on matters concerning the family law system, accessed

through the Family RelationshipAdvice Line.

While FRCs have many roles, a key purpose is as an early intervention initiative to help parents

work out post-separation parenting arrangements and manage the transition from parenting together

to parenting apart. They were designed to act both as an initial response service and as the triage unit

for family breakdown.

Correspondence: patrick.parkinson@sydney.edu.au

FAMILY COURT REVIEW,Vol. 51 No. 2, April 2013 195–213

© 2013 Association of Familyand Conciliation Cour ts

FRCs seek to help parents who are separating or have separated to access the differentser vices they

may need to assist them during this difficult period; they provide educational programs for parents on

keeping the children in focus after separation, and they offer free or at least heavily subsidized

mediation.

The FRCs are there to help resolve disputes not only in the aftermath of separation, but also in

relation to ongoing conflicts and difficulties as circumstances change. The FRCs are thus about

organising post-separation parenting, but they are much more than this. They are also intended to be

the gateway to services which will help people cope with the emotional sequelae of relationship

breakdown and to address issues such as domestic violence.

While the Centres are mainly for parents who have separated, they are also intended to provide a

holistic service to other parents going through relationship difficulties. Mainly this is by referral to

appropriate services that may assist them. This might include relationship counselling , or services to

address more specific problems such as gambling, alcohol addiction, financial problems, or anger

management.

The FRCs are intended to serve not only parents, but grandparents as well. In particular, they offer

a way of addressing grandparents’ desire to remain involved in their grandchildren’s lives when

involvement has become problematic as a consequence of parental separation.

The importance of the idea that FRCs are relationship centres rather than just ‘divorce shops’ or

mediation centres is reinforced by the mission statement of these centres:

䊊strengthening family relationships;

䊊helping families stay together; and

䊊assisting families through separation.1

The FRCs are fully funded by the Government and operate in accordance with guidelines set by the

Government. However, they are run on a not-for profit basis by non-government organisations with

experience in counselling and mediation, selected following a tender process. Although actually run

by different service providers in differentlocalities, the FRCs have a common identity and logo for the

public. The online presence2and telephone advice service also reinforce the sense that it is a

coordinated national network.

This article begins by placing the idea of FRCs in the context of international developments in

the provision of services for separated parents, including mediation. It then goes on to explain the

immediate background to the development of the proposal, and outlines how FRCs operate. Finally it

offers some reflections on FRCs and what other countries might be able to take from the Australian

initiative.

2.COURT-CENTRIC AND COMMUNITY-CENTRIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Alternative dispute resolution processes, notably mediation, have long played a role as an alter-

native to litigation in family law disputes (Beck & Sales, 2000). In many jurisdictions it is a

requirement before a case can proceed to trial. These dispute resolution strategies emerged as

alternatives to lawyer-led negotiation, and adjudication in the event that settlement negotiations fail.

The development of alternative dispute resolution as part of the process of resolving cases through

the courts was the beginning of a recognition that disputes about parenting after separation should not

be regarded as merely a legal problem requiring the interventions of lawyers and courts for its

resolution. However, around the world, mediation is often seen as part of a process of dispute

resolution which is an adjunct to the court process. The mediation service may even be annexed to the

court or closely aligned with it as part of a family justice system.

To the extent that mediation is court-ordered or court-annexed, this model of service delivery still

places lawyers and courts at the centre of the process of determining issues about post-separation

parenting. Pathways to settlement are then created to divert people off the litigation pathway.

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