Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

For Potential Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners

How to become a Registered and Accredited FDR Practitioner

A registered family dispute resolution practitioner is an individual that meets the requirements under the Family Law Act to provide family dispute resolution.

People wanting to become a registered family dispute resolution practitioner must apply to the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department for inclusion on the Family Dispute Resolution Register.

For information on the registration process, instructions on how to complete the application and an application form, download:

To become an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner, an individual must meet the accreditation requirements set out in the Family Law Regulations.

The current accreditation rules were introduced on 1 July 2007 as an interim measure while new competency-based standards were being developed.

To meet the interim accreditation requirements, a person must:

  • have been awarded an appropriate degree, diploma or other qualification from a university, college of advanced education or other tertiary institution of an equivalent standard, or
  • be admitted as a legal practitioner in one or more Australian State or Territory.

The person must also:

  • have completed at least 10 hours of supervised family dispute resolution
  • have completed five days training in dispute resolution, including at least one course of at least three days duration, and
  • meet the requirements for registration in the Family Dispute Resolution Register.

It is expected the final, competency-based accreditation rules will be available by mid 2008 and all practitioners will need to satisfy these final rules by 1 July 2009. All currently registered family dispute resolution practitioners will need to meet these rules by that date in order to continue their registration.

More information on the final accreditation requirements will be made available on this site as soon as it becomes available.

Glossary

For an explanation of terms, download the Glossary:

Further information

Please contact Practitioner Registration on 1800 025 255 or via e-mail fdrregistration@ag.gov.au if you have further questions.