Family Dispute Resolution For Property Matters: The Case For Making Space

The use of family dispute resolution (FDR) for property matters is low in Australia, despite positive outcomes. Data from a national, longitudinal study of FDR clients in 2017-2018 are used to identify reasons for this. Although 372 participants hoped for property settlement in FDR, only 2/3 of these discussed property matters at all. In a subsample of 112 interviewees with property disputes, an even lower proportion (37%) reported a serious attempt at property settlement. The most common reason for participants' inability to progress with property negotiations was an unwilling former partner. This suggests that recent changes to Family Relationship Centre rules permitting property FDR regardless of concurrent parenting matters would not have altered outcomes greatly across the sample. The latent proposal to mandate pre-filing FDR in property (as in parenting) matters would increase the likelihood that those wishing to attempt property negotiations are able to do so.