What if the other party refuses the invitation or an agreement is not reached at FDR?

An FDR practitioner's role under the Family Law Act is to facilitate an agreement being reached, however if that is not possible then a Certificate under Section 60I of the Family Law Act may be issued by the FDR practitoner.

The certificate can state that a party refused to attend, that the matter was unsuitable for FDR (eg because of family violence), that the parties attended but despite making a genuine attempt they could not reach agreement, that the process was started but abandoned because the FDRP determines that it should not continue or alternatively that the process took place but a party or parties did not make a genuine attempt to resolve their differences.

There are possible consequences if the matter proceeds to Court if the certificate states that a party refused to participate or did not make a genuine attempt to participate such as a costs order being made against that party or the parties may be ordered to attend FDR.

The issued of a certificate only allows an application to be made to a court in circumstances where one is needed to be filed at the time of filing an application.