Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 2026 • Effective: May 2026

Plain language summary

We collect only what we need to conduct your FDR process. We do not sell your information. We do not share it with third parties except where required to operate the service or where the law compels us. Everything said in your FDR sessions is legally confidential and governed by the Family Law Act, not just this policy.

Who we are

onlinefdr.com.au is an accredited online Family Dispute Resolution practice registered with the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department. We operate under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

References to "we", "us", and "our" in this policy refer to the practice operating under the onlinefdr.com.au brand. References to "you" refer to any person who contacts us, uses our website, or participates in our FDR services.

Contact: hello@onlinefdr.com.au • (03) 9961 7544

What information we collect

When you contact us or book a call

  • Your name and contact details (email address, phone number)
  • Brief information about your matter that you choose to share
  • Booking information via Google Appointment Scheduling

During the FDR process

  • Information provided during intake sessions and joint sessions
  • Documents shared as part of financial disclosure
  • Notes made by the practitioner in the course of the process
  • Your AGD registration details if you apply to join our practitioner network

When you use our website

  • Standard web server logs (IP address, browser type, pages visited)
  • Information submitted through website forms (contact, complaints, practitioner applications)
  • Cookie data as described in the Cookies section below

How we use your information

We use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected:

  • To conduct your FDR process, including intake, joint sessions, and issuing certificates or documenting agreements
  • To communicate with you about your matter, appointments, and next steps
  • To manage bookings via Google Appointment Scheduling
  • To respond to enquiries, complaints, and practitioner applications
  • To meet our obligations as an AGD-registered FDRP, including record-keeping requirements
  • To improve our services and website

We do not use your personal information for marketing purposes without your explicit consent. We do not sell, rent, or trade your information to third parties.

FDR confidentiality, inadmissibility, and the Family Law Act

Information disclosed during FDR sessions is subject to two distinct and separate legal protections under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which operate alongside this Privacy Policy and prevail to the extent of any inconsistency.

Confidentiality (s10H): The practitioner is statutorily prohibited from disclosing communications made in the course of the FDR process, with limited exceptions. Parties agree contractually under our terms to maintain the same confidentiality. The practitioner cannot be compelled to give evidence about what was said in sessions.

Inadmissibility (s10J): Even if confidentiality is breached and something from FDR is disclosed, that information cannot be admitted as evidence in court proceedings. This is a separate and additional protection that operates independently of confidentiality. A breach of confidentiality does not give the other party a litigation advantage.

Together these protections allow both parties to participate and negotiate in FDR candidly, without fear that what they say will be used against them in subsequent proceedings.

The narrow exceptions where disclosure may be required include:

  • Where a disclosure indicates a risk of harm to a child or another person
  • Where a court order compels disclosure in defined circumstances
  • Where both parties consent to disclosure

These exceptions are defined by the Family Law Act and are not a matter of our discretion.

When we disclose information

We do not disclose your personal information to third parties except in the following circumstances:

  • Service providers: We use Google Workspace and Google Appointment Scheduling for communications and bookings, and Stripe for payment processing. These providers process data on our behalf and are bound by their own privacy policies.
  • Legal obligations: Where we are required by law to disclose information, including under the Family Law Act exceptions described above.
  • AGD compliance: Where required to comply with our obligations as an AGD-registered FDRP, including any regulatory requirements relating to our registration.
  • Safety: Where we have reasonable grounds to believe disclosure is necessary to prevent a serious threat to the life, health, or safety of any person.

We will not disclose your information to any other party without your explicit written consent.

Storage and security

Your information is stored on secure systems. We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access. Our communications infrastructure is operated through Google Workspace, which provides enterprise-grade security.

Retention. We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, and for as long as required by law. As an AGD-registered FDR practitioner, we are required to retain FDR records for a minimum period under the Family Law (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners) Regulations 2025. Where the regulations require a longer retention period than would otherwise apply, the longer period prevails.

When personal information is no longer required and is no longer subject to a retention obligation, it is securely deleted or de-identified.

Overseas data storage

Some of the third-party services we use are operated from outside Australia, or may transfer data outside Australia for the purposes of backup, replication, or processing. This disclosure is provided to meet our obligations under Australian Privacy Principle 8 (cross-border disclosure of personal information).

  • Google Workspace and Google Appointment Scheduling: Primary storage region is Australia. Data may be transferred to the United States or other Google regions for backup, replication, or platform operation.
  • Google Gemini: Processing of intake recordings and transcripts may occur on Google infrastructure located outside Australia.
  • Stripe: United States-based payment processor. Stripe complies with applicable cross-border data protection frameworks.
  • Netlify: United States-based website hosting provider.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipients of personal information do not breach the Australian Privacy Principles in relation to your information. By using our services, you consent to the cross-border disclosures described above.

Recording and AI-assisted note-taking

Intake sessions are recorded and processed by an AI assistant for the practitioner's note-taking purposes. Joint mediation sessions are not recorded.

  • Intake sessions only. Each party's individual intake session (held separately, with each party privately, before any joint session) is audio-recorded with the assistance of Google Gemini, which transcribes and annotates the session for the practitioner's professional notes. This is part of your practitioner's record-keeping and supports the quality and accuracy of the FDR process. Joint sessions, where both parties are present, are not recorded.
  • Express consent required. Before any intake session begins, your practitioner will ask for your express consent to record. You may refuse, in which case the practitioner will take handwritten or typed notes only. Refusing to be recorded does not affect your ability to participate in FDR.
  • Access. Recordings and AI-generated transcripts are accessible only to your practitioner. They are stored within Google Workspace under the practitioner's account and are subject to the same security and retention rules as other client records.
  • Confidentiality. Recordings and transcripts are covered by the same statutory confidentiality and inadmissibility protections as the rest of the FDR process under sections 10H and 10J of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
  • No training use. We do not consent to recordings or transcripts being used by Google or any third party to train AI models. Google Workspace business accounts do not, by default, use customer content for model training.
  • Retention. Recordings and transcripts are retained in accordance with our standard retention rules described in the Storage and security section above.

Third-party services we use

  • Google Appointment Scheduling: Booking and scheduling. See Google's Privacy Policy at policies.google.com.
  • Google Workspace: Email, calendar, and document storage. See Google's Privacy Policy at google.com/privacy.
  • Google Meet: Video conferencing for sessions. Subject to Google's Privacy Policy.
  • Google Gemini: AI-assisted transcription and annotation of intake sessions only (with your express consent). Subject to Google's Privacy Policy.
  • Stripe: Payment processing, including Buy Now Pay Later providers (Afterpay, Klarna, Affirm, Zip). See Stripe's Privacy Policy at stripe.com/privacy.
  • Netlify: Website hosting and form submissions. See Netlify's Privacy Policy at netlify.com.
  • Dialpad: Phone service for our business landline. See Dialpad's Privacy Policy at dialpad.com.

We have selected these services carefully. We do not use advertising platforms, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics services that profile users for commercial purposes.

Your rights

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), you have the right to:

  • Request access to the personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of personal information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date
  • Make a complaint about how we have handled your personal information

To make an access or correction request, contact us at hello@onlinefdr.com.au. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

Note on FDR records

Access to records of FDR sessions is subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Family Law Act, which may limit what we can provide in response to an access request. We will advise you of any applicable limitations when responding to your request.

Cookies

Our website uses minimal cookies. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking cookies. The cookies we use are limited to:

  • Session cookies: Temporary cookies that expire when you close your browser, used to maintain basic website functionality.
  • Google Appointment Scheduling: If you use our booking system, Google may set cookies as part of their booking functionality.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our booking system.

Contact and complaints

For privacy enquiries or to exercise your rights, contact us:

If you have a complaint about our handling of your personal information, please contact us in the first instance. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, you may refer it to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

This policy was last updated in May 2026. We may update it from time to time. The current version will always be available at this address.

Change log

Substantive changes to this Privacy Policy are recorded here. Minor formatting or typographical corrections may be made without entry.

  • May 2026 — Initial version. Privacy Policy published at launch.