What's new

It is over six months since the newly established Child Specialist role began working in Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) and many are curious as to what impact the role has made and the outcomes achieved for whānau. While it is still early days, and FDR suppliers are utilising their Child Specialists in different ways, there are some key indicators giving us a read on the various successes and overall impact of the role so far.

But what happens when there is a Court referral to FDR, where a Judge has directed the parties to attend FDR pursuant to the Court’s jurisdiction under section 46F of the Care of Children Act 2004? This question has been asked of us a few times recently, and the answer is not straight forward. I have endeavoured to summarise a few of the key challenges with Lawyers for Child attending FDR mediation in this article.

Hard to believe that we are already beyond the halfway point for 2024! The months that have passed since our last edition have been very busy and our team are proud to have assisted so many Kiwis through to a resolution of their ACC dispute.

If you are a habitual Family Advocate reader you may have been following the changes to FDR mediation following the implementation of the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Act 2021 (“the Act”) which enables tamariki to have a stronger voice in Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) mediation.

We are all aware of increasing attention being paid to bullying in the workplace and Pink Shirt Day is another example of efforts to bring this dark issue and into the light (quite literally). More is written and spoken about the problem than ever before but there is very little evidence that the increased profile is making a difference.

Answers to your FAQs…

By Will Story for the Family Advocate, Autumn 2024

I orea te tuatara ka puta ki waho. - A problem is solved by continuing to find solutions. Nau mai, haere mai! Welcome to our ACC Services Kōrero December edition.