Giving young people a voice in family law via our Kids Talk Program

Our Kids Talk Program promotes the rights of children and young people to participate in decision-making about them. Evaluations have shown that through our program, which allows children’s voices to be heard in mediation at our Family Dispute Resolution Service, children and families have better outcomes in family separation, including higher rates of resolution. Importantly, children themselves feel that someone is actively interested in their experience, and that they have been listened to.

Supporting children to form their views in a safe way

Meena (name changed to protect privacy) is a young person who benefited from our Kids Talk program, and is neurodivergent.

A withdrawn young adolescent, she initially presented as shy and apprehensive at her first Kids Talk meeting. She was reluctant to make eye contact and gave non-verbal or one-word responses to questions by the child specialist. Meena’s parents had been engaged in litigation for a decade.

The child specialist helped Meena by:

• providing photos of the building, meeting room and waiting room as well as the topics that would be discussed
• normalising how difficult it was to meet and speak to new people in an unfamiliar setting about sensitive personal issues
• seeking Meena’s consent to share information
• including the topics that would be covered, in writing on a small whiteboard, so she knew what was coming and what to expect
• showing her youth-friendly materials available to use and giving her time to feel comfortable in the space
• reassuring Meena that if she found a question or topic uncomfortable, she could either speak or give a hand gesture, and they would move onto another subject.

By working with Meena we were able to put her at ease, and she was able to concentrate and be direct and honest with the child specialist. This then informed the feedback the child specialist was able to provide. Meena made it clear that she had strong views, and hadn’t felt heard previously, after years of conflict. The report used in mediation, led to a parenting agreement that sought the best outcome for Meena.

Children’s participation delivers better outcomes

We work with parents and carers through our process to identify if it is safe and appropriate to undertake Kids Talk. If so, we engage an experienced social worker or psychologist trained to work with children (a child specialist), who will:

• speak with parents or carers to arrange a meeting with children in child-friendly venues
• ensure children genuinely consent to being involved, and understand the extent to which the specialist will share information
• give feedback to parents or carers about children’s experiences and views, in a sensitive way
• provide a confidential, short report for parents or carers and any lawyer acting, including observations from the Kids Talk meeting.

The Kids Talk report provides the mediator with a valuable tool to focus attention on the child’s best interests during the mediation session itself.

While child-inclusive family dispute resolution has been available for many years, there has been an increased emphasis on child participation both in family dispute resolution and in litigation. This was strongly reinforced through recent changes to the Family Law Act 1975.

The Child Safe Standards also require that we empower young people to participate in decisions affecting them and take them seriously. Emerging research involving young people further highlights how detrimental it is to deny children the right to have a say in decisions about their own lives, particularly in the name of ‘protecting’ them.

Importantly, Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have a right to be heard in ‘any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child’.

Managing Child Specialist Johanna Wood from our Family, Youth and Children’s Law team is a strong advocate for the benefits of the Kids Talk program, and the agency of children.

‘When we give children the chance to talk about their family in a safe and supportive way, without pressure to make decisions, and when we provide parents and carers with the opportunity to hear what is important to their child from an impartial and independent professional, it leads to beneficial outcomes for children, and those who care for them.

‘The program works in an inclusive, trauma informed and neuro-affirming way, which creates a safe environment that allows kids to feel comfortable participating,’ said Johanna.

An increased uptake of our service

Our program grew significantly after we took steps to boost participation, which aligned with the introduction of the updated Victorian Child Safe Standards in 2022. By 2024-2025 we had almost doubled the number of children participating, with 91 children participating in Kids Talk in 2021-2022, up to 173 children that financial year.

Of the families utilising Kids Talk in 2024-25, our program data revealed that 9.4 per cent involved First Nations children. During the same period, 36 per cent of children participating were neurodivergent, and 91.5 per cent of children in Kids Talk identified an experience of family violence.

Johanna says that the data confirms that parents and carers are listening to children.

‘In 94 per cent of conferences involving Kids Talk, mediators observed a real shift in parental understanding of children’s perspective, whilst in 73 per cent of conferences, improved communication between parents and carers was reported.

‘One significant aspect of the program is its contribution to a 92 per cent settlement rate in Kids Talk mediations (compared to 81 per cent in cases overall). Earlier resolution via an agreed parenting plan leads to an increased number of parenting orders made by consent, and thus less litigation for families.

‘This benefits everyone as, even in those cases that don’t settle, children have had their voices heard,’ said Johanna.

More information

Learn more about Kids Talk.