Property dispute resolution

This program is designed to provide a straightforward and efficient process for dividing property, including debts, between separating or separated couples with net assets of $500,000 or less (excluding superannuation), outside of court.

Who can attend property dispute resolution?

If you cannot agree on dividing property, and you have a net asset pool of $500,000 or less, or an estimated total net claim of $250,000 or less, excluding superannuation and meet other criteria, you may be able to apply for legal aid for a lawyer to prepare for and attend dispute resolution at the Family Dispute Resolution Service with you.

If you attempt dispute resolution and there is no agreement, you may be able to get a grant of legal aid to go to court. You may also be able to get funding for litigation if your case is urgent or not suitable for dispute resolution.

Find out more about the Victoria Legal Aid property guidelines Guideline 9.1 – Family Dispute Resolution Services in family law property disputes

Do I need legal advice?

Our service requires each person in the property dispute to have a lawyer attend the family dispute resolution conference with them. It is important to have legal advice about your options for property division and the consequences of any agreement, as well as to help you prepare. You may need to get valuations, for example.

If you are not eligible for legal aid or not able to pay a lawyer privately, we may be able to refer you to a lawyer through a community legal centre, if required, as part of the program.

What if there are also parenting issues?

If you have children, to be eligible for a property grant, you must be eligible for a grant for the parenting dispute under existing guidelines or have no current legal parenting dispute.

If parenting issues are raised after you are at dispute resolution for property issues and you are not eligible for a parenting grant, there may be some ability for parenting issues to be discussed if each person agrees to this, and it is secondary to the property issues.

Generally it is preferable to resolve parenting issues first, but there can be reasons property division is more urgent.

How does family dispute resolution work?

The process at the Family Dispute Resolution Service is the same as for other cases, such as children’s issues.

Find out more about the dispute resolution service process.

What information do I have to provide?

The law requires full and frank financial disclosure of all assets and debts. To help prepare, you must each complete a Family Dispute Resolution Service financial statement (or court financial form) and send these to our service and your lawyer, before the case can be booked for a family dispute resolution property conference.

If an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner at our service decides the case is appropriate for family dispute resolution, we will book a conference as soon as possible, after we have checked everyone’s availability (including lawyers). It can be booked to occur in person, or via video or teleconference, depending on the most suitable format.

We encourage the exchange of financial information, including financial statements, prior to the conference.

The case manager may contact you and the other party’s lawyer before the conference to check if there is any outstanding disclosure or preparation required.

What if the case does not proceed to conference?

We cannot organise a conference if:

the other party does not agree to participate in mediation or is invited but does not respond
the other party is unable to obtain legal representation (even with our assistance), or
for other reasons (such as safety) mediation is not appropriate.

We will close the file, but we will not issue a section 60I certificate. Instead, we will provide a letter explaining that mediation could not proceed. This letter can be used if your client applies for an extension of their grant of legal assistance to pursue litigation for property settlement.

What happens after the conference?

If an agreement is reached at conference, such as by heads of agreement, funding is generally available for the applicant’s lawyer to prepare and file consent orders.

If there is no full agreement, you can agree to return for a further conference. A grant to attend the Family Dispute Resolution Service for a property dispute includes up to three conferences. If you don’t agree about how to divide your property, if you are eligible you can apply for an extension of legal aid to go to court.