Mediation & Family Law Dispute Resolution


Peter Maatouk, the Principal of Maatouks Law Group is an Accredited Mediator as well as a Family Law Dispute Resolution Practitioner.

He has over 22 years of experience in the legal industry and can assist you with any type of legal matter or dispute.

Being a Family Law Dispute Resolution Practitioner, he is also able to provide clients with a Section 60I Certificate as required by law.

What is mediation?

Mediation is an alternate dispute resolution mechanism that involves a negotiation process in which an independent person, known as a mediator, assists the parties to identify and assess options and negotiate an agreement to resolve their dispute. In short, mediation is an alternative to being forced to “go to Court” and spending thousands of dollars and not being able to control the outcome of your matter.

What cases are suitable for mediation?

All cases, regardless of their complexity or number of parties, can be referred to mediation. The types of matters commonly mediated include corporation law, commercial law, business law, lease disputes, property law, industrial law, consumer law, neighborhood disputes.


  • A willingness to participate in mediation;
  • The possibility that a judge’s decision will not end the dispute;
  • The need for parties to find a way to preserve their relationship;
  • The existence of non-monetary factors; and
  • The potential for a negotiated outcome that better suits the needs and interests of the parties than a judge’s decision.

Why mediate?

Mediation offers many benefits over “going to court”, including:

  • Time: ordinarily a dispute can be resolved more quickly through mediation than through the Courts.
  • Cost: if a dispute can be resolved through mediation, the costs of preparing and running a court case can be avoided. Additionally, after a court case the unsuccessful party runs the risk of being ordered to pay the legal costs of the successful party.
  • Flexibility: mediation offers parties more control over the outcome.
  • Confidentiality: mediation is private, generally the courts or the public are not informed as to the outcome of any agreement reached between the parties.

Family LAW Dispute Resolution Mediations

Mr Peter Maatouk, the Principal of our firm is a Registered Family Law Dispute Resolution Practitioner. This means that he is able to assist you with settling your dispute with your former partner in a fast and cost effective way. Parties must obtain a Section 60I Certificate prior to commencing any providing relating to children and custody in the Family Court or Federal Circuit Court.

The procedure involved in family law dispute resolution is as follows:

  1. A one-hour initial consultation with each party separately, in order to hear the issues from each party independently, explain the process in detail and assess the suitability of mediation.
  2. If mediation is suitable and all parties are willing, we arrange the mediation between all parties. Mediation sittings are generally booked in 3 hour blocks. Mediations generally do not go for longer than three hours as people become tired and find it difficult to continue functioning constructively. If there are still issues to resolve, we set down another mediation session to explore remaining issues in dispute and attempt management and or resolution of the matter.
  3. If a party elects to decline involvement in a dispute resolution process we, as dispute resolution practitioners are required to issue a Section 60I Certificate to all parties. The Section 601 Certificate generally states the reason the mediation will not go ahead, and allows either party to pursue their legal options including, filing court documents. At the initial consultation, we explain the Section 60I Certificate in more detail and the process involved.
  4. If parties elect to proceed to mediation and all parties make a genuine effort in an attempt to manage or resolve the issues but fail, we would then issue a Section 60I Certificate saying so, and this allows each of the parties to go to Court for a determination.

We welcome your queries in relation to any legal matter.