Title
Family dispute resolution in Australia: The under-servicing of Indigenous, migrant and refugee families experiencing family violence
Author(s)
McDonnell, Siobhan
Abstract
Improving access to legal services for Indigenous, migrant and refugee women is critical to addressing family violence. In this context, Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) has long been discussed as a solution for separating families. This paper presents key findings of a research evaluation of an Australian Government $8.37 million pilot project designed to deliver Legally Assisted Culturally Appropriate Family Dispute Resolution (LACAFDR) to separating families experiencing family violence, where parents were from Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Drawing on 216 interviews and two separate large-scale client datasets, key findings show that even with additional funding, mainstream Family Relationship Centres continued to under-service Indigenous and CALD families. The paper discusses this under-servicing in the broader context of the key barriers that Indigenous and CALD clients face when accessing family relationship, family violence, family dispute resolution and legal services from mainstream Family Relationship Centre (FRC) providers.
Publication information
Aust J Soc Issues. 2026 Mar. Online ahead of print. doi: 10.1002/ajs4.70103
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Family Dispute Resolution in Australia.pdf
Description
Re-used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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562.68 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):5426f1078494166de74a946c5397d139
Date Issued
2026-03-23
Type
Journal Article
Journal Title
Australian journal of social issues
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