Service Types

Information, advice and referral services:

• Family Relationship Centres provide families with information about relationship and separation issues. Through information and referral the Centres help families strengthen relationships and deal with relationship difficulties. Where families separate, the Centres provide information, advice and joint family dispute resolution to help them reach agreement on parenting arrangements without going to court. More information....  
• Family Relationship Advice Line - 1800 050 321 - a national telephone service established to assist families affected by relationship or separation issues. The Advice Line is for anyone who is affected by family relationship or separation issues and difficulties, including parents, grandparents, children, young people, step-parents or friends. The Family Relationship Advice Line is available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday (local time), except on national public holidays. More information.... 
• Family Relationships Online is an Australian Government website that provides access to information and services relevant to family relationships and separation.
• Mensline Australia - 1300 789 978 - a 24-hour telephone support service dedicated to men's issues. The service delivers a telephone counselling service, and makes referrals to men's services and support programs in local areas. The service provides professional, anonymous and confidential short-term counselling over the telephone. The Mensline Australia website also has practical tip sheets and/or access men's programs and service details.

Services for strengthening family relationships and resolving difficulties

• Family Relationships Counselling (including Family Therapy): professional counsellors assist individuals, couples and families, including separating families, to resolve relationship issues that arise at various stages of their relationships.  More information...
• Family Relationship Education and Skills Training assist individuals, couples and families to develop skills that foster positive relationships with their partner, children and other family members. Some of the assistance offered includes promoting positive parenting, developing communication and problem solving skills for individuals and couples throughout the lifecycle, providing relationship education in schools as well as courses for pre-marriage and other key transition points such as becoming a parent. More information...
• Men and Family Relationship Services are designed specifically to assist men and their families. All family members including partners, ex-partners, children, stepchildren, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents can use these services. The services aim to help men and their families to better manage their relationships with their partners, ex-partners, children and step-children. More information...
• Family Relationship Services for Humanitarian Entrants are designed especially for families who have entered Australia under the Humanitarian Entry Program. Services are open to adults, young people, parents and their children. The services aim to address the needs of each family member and provide information about life in Australia, including customs, laws and the role expectations of males and females to help families to adjust to Australia's culture. More information...
• Specialised Family Violence Services use a whole-of-family approach, to support those individuals, couples, families, young people and children who have experienced or witnessed family violence. The services aim to support adults and young people/children affected by family violence, and also seek to change the behaviours of those who use violence. The services include counselling; behaviour change groups; support, and information and referral. More information...
• Adolescent Mediation and Family Therapy Services are available for young people (aged 10 to 21) and their families or caregivers who want to improve their relationships and resolve conflict. The services aim to prevent family breakdown or youth homelessness by working directly with young people and their families or caregivers to resolve conflict and improve relationships. This is done through mediation and/or family therapy.  More information...
• Family Relationship Services for Carers are available to family members who are considering the future care of their family member with disability. These services help carers to think about future care arrangements for their family member with disability, resolve conflicts that may arise within the family in relation to the future care needs and discuss their concerns and issues around family relationships and the care of a family member with disability.  More information...
• Family Relationship Services for Families in Special Circumstances are available to individuals and their families who are experiencing difficulties as a result of Drought conditions or Sugar Industry Reform. This can include emotional and financial assistance including individual and family counselling. The services also bring communities together through local activities and social support.  More information...

 Services for people who are separated or separating:

• Family Relationships Counselling (including Family Therapy): professional counsellors assist individuals, couples and families, including separating families, to resolve relationship issues that arise at various stages of their relationships.   More information...
• Family Dispute Resolution is a process conducted by an independent practitioner or practitioners to assist members of families, including separated families, to resolve some or all of their disputes with each other. Examples of family dispute resolution processes are mediation and conciliation. Family dispute resolution services can help separating families resolve disputes as an alternative to going to court. More information ...
• Regional Family Dispute Resolution is designed to meet the particular needs of regional communities, providing a range of services to help separating families resolve disputes and reach agreement on parenting arrangements, and finances and property.
• Children's Contact Services assist the children of separated parents to have contact with and establish and maintain a relationship with their other parent and family members. They provide a safe, reliable and neutral place to assist parents with the changeover of children. They also provide supervised contact to assist separated parents to manage contact arrangements, especially where there are concerns about safety. More information ...
• Parenting Orders Program (previously known as the Contact Orders Program) provides assistance to separating families in high conflict with parenting arrangements. Family members, including children, can receive a range of services such as counselling, family dispute resolution and group work education as part of this program. Some families are ordered into these programs by the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court whilst other high conflict families may be referred to these services as alternative to taking their disputes to court. More information...
• Post Separation Cooperative Parenting will assist separated parents in conflict to work cooperatively over parenting arrangements. The services will provide education, counselling and individual support. Twenty-eight new Post Separation Cooperative Parenting services (PSCP) will be opened in regional locations between October 2008 and July 2009.
• The Supporting Children After Separation Program will assist children from separating and separated families to deal with issues arising from the breakdown in their parents’ relationship and to be able to participate in decisions that impact on them. The objective of this new service type is to support children within the context of their family to manage and enhance their relationship during and after family separation. Eighteen services are located across Australia.

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