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The Idea of Family Relationship Centres in Australia
Author(s) -
Parkinson Patrick
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/fcre.12020
Subject(s) - mediation , referral , family mediation , government (linguistics) , intervention (counseling) , family court , family law , psychology , sociology , political science , law , medicine , alternative dispute resolution , nursing , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy
Family R elationship C entres formed the centrepiece of major reforms to the family law system in A ustralia which were introduced from 2006 onwards. They were established 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 F amily R elationship C entres and how they operate. It also explains the background to their development and how the idea came to be accepted by the A ustralian 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 over a five year period.