Snapshot
- The Family Law Settlement Service (FLSS) is a joint initiative of the Family Law and Federal Circuit Courts, the Law Society of NSW and the NSW Bar Association.
- The Court and legal practitioners can identify matters that may be suitable for the service.
- The FLSS is a cost-effective and efficient way for parties to settle financial cases and costs $990 per party.
- More than ever before, it is important that legal practitioners become accustomed to, and competent in, representing their clients during the mediation of family law cases.
The Family Law Settlement Service (FLSS) is a joint initiative of the Family Law Courts, the Law Society of New South Wales and the NSW Bar Association. The FLSS provides a cost-effective and efficient way for parties to settle financial cases in the Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court (the Courts). The FLSS is available in all Family Law Court Registries in NSW.
Matters referred to the FLSS involve financial and property issues that usually are at the post-conciliation conference and pre-final hearing stage of proceedings. The FLSS provides an opportunity for the parties to reach a negotiated agreement at the ‘late stage’ of proceedings.
The mediation process is relatively informal and, when compared with the court process, provides a non-legal environment for clients to engage in constructive negotiation. Both the Court and practitioners can identify matters that may be suitable for the FLSS and the Court may order that a matter be referred to the FLSS for mediation.
