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Family dispute resolution practitioners at Victoria Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Service

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At Victoria Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) all our family dispute resolution practitioners are accredited under the section 10A Accreditation Rules of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and registered with Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department, which maintains the national FDR Register.

We call the family dispute resolution practitioners who facilitate conferences 'chairpersons'. We have other family dispute resolution practitioners who oversee our case management program.

Practitioners who facilitate conferences (chairpersons) are appointed to the Family Dispute Resolution Service Chairperson panel and may be external or in-house practitioners.

We also have accredited family dispute resolution practitioners who oversee our case management program, where we assess for risk and suitability for conference. These practitioners can issue section 60I certificates in parenting and spousal maintenance cases where dispute resolution is requested but does not proceed.

What family dispute resolution practitioners do

Family dispute resolution practitioners support clients with a family law dispute coming through our service in several different ways. At the assessment process, they manage risk identification and manage and make decisions about whether a case is appropriate for dispute resolution. They are also responsible for ensuring clients are provided with the information and support they need, to prepare for conference.

At a dispute resolution conference, the chairperson helps parties isolate the issues, develop and consider options, and work towards an agreement. They run family dispute resolution conferences in children’s and property and financial cases.

They do not give anyone tailored legal advice. Each party has the right to obtain their own legal advice at any stage of the family dispute resolution process.

Some chairpersons are also child consultants who work in our Kids Talk program. Find out more about the Family Dispute Resolution Service process.

Who are they

The family dispute resolution practitioners at Victoria Legal Aid’s Family Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) bring decades of collective experience in delivering client-centred dispute resolution services, working across many aspects of family law, including parenting and property matters. Their professional expertise spans law, psychology, social work, and dispute resolution. Some chairpersons are also accredited under the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards (AMDRAS)).

Several have been appointed as independent children’s lawyers, acquired specialisation in family and children’s law, and lectured at tertiary level, while others are experienced clinicians and family report writers, have led restorative engagement programs, worked with First Nations communities, and promoted and embedded child-inclusive practices. They bring rich expertise and deep understanding in supporting families to navigate complex children’s and financial arrangements, to resolve disputes.

Experienced in working collaboratively with family lawyers, this diverse group of practitioners ensures that we can offer trauma-informed, culturally secure, and child and future-focused mediation tailored to the unique needs of the families attending our service.

Freia is the associate director of mediation at Victoria Legal Aid. She is an AMDRAS accredited mediator, children’s law specialist with the Law Institute of Victoria, former independent children’s lawyer and is trained in international parental child abduction mediation and restorative practice. Also a current steering committee member of the Greater Melbourne Family Law Pathways Network and former board member of International Social Service Australia, she has led the Family Dispute Resolution Service since 2010.

Sam was appointed managing family dispute resolution practitioner in 2018. Part of her role is to oversee the supervision of our external family dispute resolution practitioners on the chairperson panel. She is a former youth lawyer and independent children’s lawyer, with Family Relationship Centre dispute resolution experience and significant community sector management experience. Sam has also trained in facilitation, child inclusive mediation and counselling, and restorative practice.

Julia is an Advanced Accredited Mediator and family lawyer with a Master of Laws, specialising in ADR and family law. Since 2025, she has led property mediations at Victoria Legal Aid, where she also oversees the property program and provides training and mentors junior practitioners. From 2015 to 2024, she ran a legal and mediation practice in NSW and was a member of the Legal Aid NSW mediation panel, providing statewide training and support to panels lawyers and mediators.

Mary-Jo is a social worker and in-house senior family dispute resolution practitioner at Victoria Legal Aid. Her background spans work in the community legal centre sector, community and government services, and university teaching. She has worked in family violence, elder abuse, disability support, and homelessness. A family dispute resolution practitioner since 2020, Mary-Jo joined Victoria Legal Aid in 2023, where she now facilitates conferences, oversees clinical placements, and offers peer support and staff supervision.

Kristen is a family law lawyer who has worked across both family law and family violence jurisdictions. She joined FDRS in 2016 as a Case Manager, was accredited as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner in 2023, and was appointed as an in-house Senior Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner in 2024.

Zack is a Palawa man, and in-house family dispute resolution practitioner. Since 2021, he has practised as a lawyer across Victoria, predominantly in family law, family violence and child protection. He was accredited as a family dispute resolution practitioner in 2024 and facilitates conferences for many First Nations families. He has a particular interest in seeing First Nations families achieve timely, fair and culturally appropriate outcomes and supporting resolution outside court where possible.

KaLo is a dispute resolution specialist and family dispute resolution practitioner with legal and social science background, having become accredited in 2023. She has been with the Family Dispute Resolution Service since 2020.

Narelle is an experienced family lawyer and in-house family dispute resolution practitioner, having been with the service since 2013.

Helen is qualified in law and psychology, and is an experienced in-house family dispute resolution practitioner, having been with the service since 2011.

External chairpersons

Paul Ban (he/him)

Paul is a social worker, mediator, trainer, expert witness, and consultant who works nationally and internationally, including with First Nations groups, and has in private practice been providing family reports for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. He has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003 and is also a member of the FDRS Child Consultant Panel.

Natasha Belmont (she/her)

Natasha is a psychologist, lawyer, accredited mediator, and group facilitator who works in family services and dispute resolution, while also training and supervising professionals. She has been a member of the FDRS Child Consultant Panel and a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2022.

Katherine (Kathy) Cullen (she/her)

Kathy, a Wiradjuri woman, is a lawyer, nationally accredited mediator, and consultant on Indigenous service delivery, with experience in family, criminal and youth law. She provides culturally responsive dispute resolution services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2012.

Carmel Cumberbatch (she/her)

Carmel is a family lawyer and mediator with experience across government-funded agencies, private practice, and academia, including as a lecturer at Deakin University. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2022.

Anthea Dacy (she/her)

Anthea is a nationally accredited mediator with experience in family relationship services and bilingual trade consultancy in China. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2012.

Jodie Grant (she/her)

Jodie is a social worker and nationally accredited mediator who runs a private practice, trains and supervises mediators, and acts as a restorative engagement facilitator with the defence abuse response taskforce. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2022.

Mary‑Louise Hatch (she/her)

Mary‑Louise is a family lawyer, mediator, and parenting coordinator who practices both publicly and privately, and is deputy president of the Victorian Association of juki Collaborative Professionals. She also lectures and trains in mediation. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2022.

Susan Hamilton‑Green (she/her)

Susan is a nationally accredited mediator, trainer, and Law Institute of Victoria specialist in mediation and family law. She works as a private practitioner and Independent Children’s Lawyer at Victoria Legal Aid, and coaches and lectures in conflict resolution. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003.

Mark Hebblewhite (he/him)

Mark is a nationally accredited mediator, barrister, and former chair of the Mediator Standards Board who combines legal practice with extensive mediation in family law and other jurisdictions. He is also an accredited course presenter, trainer, coach, and assessor. He has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003.

Walter Ibbs (he/him)

Walter is a social worker, accredited mediator, and former Family Court consultant with decades of experience in dispute resolution. He has held roles including clinical services coordinator and supervising consultant and is a member of the FDRS Child Consultant Panel. He has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003.

Valda Marino (she/her)

Valda is a family lawyer and nationally accredited mediator, an accredited family law specialist with the Law Institute of Victoria, and a former registrar and mediator at the Family Court of Australia. She now undertakes private family law locum and dispute resolution work. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2012.

Anthony (Tony) O’Dwyer (he/him)

Tony is a family consultant who provides court reports and works in private practice offering counselling and family therapy. He has held roles in child protection, the Children’s Court of Victoria, and corrections, and is also a member of the FDRS Child Consultant Panel. He has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003.

Jill Raby (she/her)

Jill is a family lawyer, nationally accredited mediator and arbitrator, and sessional judicial registrar at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, where she was formerly a senior registrar and mediator. She also works privately in family dispute resolution and has a background with the Child Support Agency. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003.

Kenneth (Kalman) Rubin (he/him)

Kalman is a practising psychologist with a focus on family law mediation, counselling, and therapy for individuals and families. He previously worked as a manager and mediator at the Family Court of Australia and continues his private clinical and mediation practice. He has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2003.

Rosa Silvestro (she/her)

Rosa is a psychologist and collaborative law practitioner who has worked as a family counsellor and dispute resolution coordinator for the courts and continues to provide family reports for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in private practice. She also trains family consultants and independent children’s lawyers and is a member of the FDRS Child Consultant Panel. She has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2012.

Nigel White (he/him)

Nigel has a community services background in youth support, housing advocacy, consumer affairs, and multicultural mental health, and now works as a family dispute resolution practitioner. He has been a member of the FDRS Chairperson panel since 2012.

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