What can you expect?

You can use our online form to get in touch with us. 

Our team will use the information you share to learn about your situation and check if mediation is the right option for you.

If suitable, we’ll get in touch with the other person and invite them to join the mediation. 

If you’d prefer to complete the form over the phone, or need any help, please call us on 0800 77 44 20 weekdays between 8:30am and 5pm.

If everyone agrees to mediation, we’ll give each of you a call to help you get ready. 

We will answer your questions and walk you through the process.

We’ll also find out more about you and your tamariki. 

We will talk to you about your situation and your needs for the mediation. If you have any special requirements, let us know as soon as possible so we can make suitable arrangements.

For example, you may like us to:

• provide relay or interpreter services
• meet religious requirements
• recommend venues that meet mobility needs
• conduct the mediation in a way that supports vision or hearing problems
• adopt a tikanga-based approach to mediation.

For young children, we will provide some resources to help you understand their needs when making a care plan for them. 

For children aged 6 and over, with permission from both of you and also from your child, our team can arrange to meet with your child. This is a great way to make sure they have their own voice in the process, so their needs and feelings are understood too.  A practitioner trained in working with children will get in touch with you to make these arrangements.

We’ll share some resources to help you upskill and prepare for mediation. These will help you understand the next steps, what you would like to achieve at mediation and some strategies to get the most from your conversations. 

Our mediators are highly trained and accredited as specialist family mediators. We have panel who are based all around the country. You can read about our mediators on our website, then choose one who’s local to you and will suit your needs or we can make a recommendation. 

You and others in the dispute must agree on the mediator. We'll work with everyone to reach agreement.

Your mediator will also get in touch to arrange the first meeting. This is when each person meets the mediator individually, before the mediation begins. This could be by phone, online or in person.

Your mediator connects with you all to arrange a date and time for your joint mediation meeting where everyone can come together. We arrange the venue in a suitable location near you, or it could be online.

This session is often scheduled around 4 to 6 weeks ahead of this point, unless you tell us you need it sooner.

Everyone meets together, including the mediator, to make a plan for your whānau. 

Our child-inclusive approach to mediation helps you as the parents and caregivers to have conversations about your family and to make decisions with the best interests and developmental needs of your tamariki and rangatahi at heart.

At the end of the mediation session, the mediator will prepare a parenting plan summarising any agreements reached. You can keep that private or apply to have it made into a Court Order. 

If you can’t agree, you can apply to the Family Court to hear your dispute.