Our practice
Built for the
people the system
wasn't reaching.
onlinefdr.com.au was founded on the belief that accredited Family Dispute Resolution should be reachable by anyone in Australia, without the months of waiting and the geographic limits that keep so many separating families from the help they need.
"Too many separating Australians can't get to the help they need. Distance, waiting lists, and the time the system takes all stand in the way. We built this practice to bring resolution within reach."
The hardest part of FDR is not the conversation. It is getting started.
Family Dispute Resolution exists for a reason. The law requires separating parents to attempt it before going to court, and evidence consistently shows that negotiated outcomes are better for families, better for children, and far less damaging than contested proceedings.
The reality is more complicated. Government-funded FDR services are stretched. Waiting lists in major cities run to weeks. In regional and rural Australia, the wait can be months, and in some areas there is no local service at all.
Private FDR practitioners fill that gap. But the majority operate from offices in capital cities, requiring both parties to travel to the same location on the same day. For separated couples in different cities, different states, or different circumstances, that model creates its own barriers.
"The in-person model was designed around the practitioner's office. The online model is designed around the parties."
We built onlinefdr.com.au to make accredited, professional FDR genuinely accessible. Every session is conducted online, which means no travel, no waiting rooms, no requirement to be in the same city. A family in Broken Hill, Broome, or Brisbane's outer suburbs can access the same quality of service as one in the inner city.
Structured, child-focused, and built around resolution.
Our practice uses a facilitative mediation model, the recognised standard for Family Dispute Resolution in Australia. Sessions are structured to give each party the space to be heard, to understand the other perspective, and to work toward an outcome that both can live with.
In parenting matters, every conversation is anchored to the needs, wellbeing, and future of the children involved. We work with parents to bring the voice of their children into the room, through what each parent knows and observes, without placing children in the process directly.
The child at the centre
Parenting arrangements anchored to the needs of children, not the preferences of parents.
Safe and confidential
FDR is protected by two distinct legal provisions: confidentiality (s10H Family Law Act) prevents disclosure, and inadmissibility (s10J) means that even if something is disclosed, it cannot be used as evidence in court.
Focused on outcomes
Practical, workable agreements. Not a forum for relitigating the past.
Genuinely national
Both parties can be in different cities or states. Geography is no longer a reason not to proceed.
Properly credentialled, properly accountable.
Family Dispute Resolution is a regulated profession in Australia. Accredited FDRPs are registered with the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department and authorised to issue Section 60I certificates required before most parenting order applications.
Credentials matter. They are the difference between a qualified, accountable practitioner and someone offering a service without the training or professional obligations that protect clients.
Kevin Scrimshaw, founder of onlinefdr.com.au.
onlinefdr.com.au was founded by Kevin Scrimshaw, an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner registered with the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department (AGD FDRP Reg. No. F2003011) and a member of the Australian Mediation Association. Kevin leads the practice and continues to take on matters personally. His background and ongoing professional development are in mediation, conflict resolution, and family law process, not commercial litigation.
The practice operates online by design. Sessions are conducted via Google Meet. There is no shared waiting room, no commute for either party, and no geographic limit on who can be reached.
Kevin founded onlinefdr.com.au to make accredited FDR reachable for families the public system cannot get to in time, and for those who simply live too far from one to attend in person. The practice is built to extend that reach over time. Online sessions only. Every type of family dispute, every stage of separation.
"Most of the families who reach this practice have already waited months for an option that was meant to be available. The work is to remove those barriers, not add new ones."
Why every session runs online.
The decision to operate entirely online was not about convenience. It was about access. The communities that need FDR most are precisely the communities the traditional in-person model serves least well.
Genuinely national
Available to any separating couple in Australia, regardless of where they are.
Safer for high-conflict matters
Physical separation throughout. Shuttle mediation means parties are genuinely in different locations.
Faster than the alternative
Typically available within two weeks of first enquiry. Government services in many areas have waiting lists of months.
Less costly than contested proceedings
Contested family law proceedings commonly cost tens of thousands of dollars per party. FDR costs significantly less than that and is usually resolved in weeks.
Ready to find out if FDR is right for your situation?
A free discovery call with an accredited practitioner. No pressure, no commitment. Just a straight conversation about your options.
Free • Confidential • No obligation • Available nationally