How much does Family Dispute Resolution cost?

You pay stage by stage. Each stage is priced upfront and confirmed in writing before it begins, covering the mediation, your written agreement, and the documents that finalise your matter, including the legal drafting and lodging. The guide reflects the time most matters take; if yours needs more, any additional hours are charged at the same clear rate, per party, so nothing arrives as a surprise.

Your pricing covers the mediation time across intake and the joint session, your written agreement, and the documents that record what you agree, such as Consent Orders prepared by a partner lawyer and lodged for you. The free discovery call beforehand is not charged. Each path lists exactly what is included, and what optional stages are available if your matter needs them.

If a parenting matter does not resolve, you can request a Section 60I certificate, a separate stage, so you can apply to court. If a matter is assessed as unsuitable for mediation at intake, you pay only for the intake stage. Because you pay stage by stage, you are told where you stand before each stage begins, and only pay for the stages you use.

The legal documents are prepared by a lawyer on our panel and included in your pricing. For a Binding Financial Agreement, the law requires each party to receive independent legal advice, so two lawyers are involved, and that is arranged and quoted up front. You do not organise or pay for any of this separately.

Yes. You can pay securely by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or split a stage into four interest-free payments with Afterpay. Everything is processed through Stripe. Because each stage is priced and agreed up front, you always know what a stage costs before you start it.

In most cases yes, and by a wide margin. The lawyer-led path regularly runs past $85,000 per party and takes 12 to 36 months, with a judge deciding the outcome. Most matters that resolve through Family Dispute Resolution settle in weeks, at a fraction of the cost of litigation, and the parties keep control of the outcome.