Supporting separating couples with complex needs through legally-assisted family dispute resolution
3 December 2025
Since 2013, our Legally-Assisted Family Dispute Resolution (LAFDR) partnership service has supported separating couples experiencing family violence, unequal bargaining power or other vulnerabilities.
Delivered in partnership with community legal centres in Sunshine, LAFDR consistently achieves strong rates of agreement, and we wanted to find out exactly what drives this. In 2023-24 we conducted a study to evaluate the partnership's outcomes, with a particular focus on clients’ experiences and how lawyer assistance enhances the FDR process.
What we learned
- Lawyer assistance markedly enhances the FDR process for vulnerable clients by increasing feelings of safety, support, and empowerment.
- Session format plays a role in client satisfaction, underscoring the need to maintain flexibility and consider joint, rather than shuttle sessions where possible.
- Adequately preparing clients and managing their expectations of legal outcomes may enhance their experiences of LAFDR.
- Lawyer assistance supports high rates of agreement, which exceed rates of agreement observed in standard FDR.
Read our 2-page research summary to learn more.