Family mediation for families in Australia

For families split between Australia and England or Wales, where distance, flights and school years all have to be worked around.

Contents 9 sections

Ten thousand miles is not an obstacle to mediating. It is an obstacle to arrangements written as though everyone lived in the same town.

Australia is as far as a family can reasonably be separated, and that distance changes what needs deciding. A fortnight in the school holidays is not a fortnight when two days of it are spent in the air, and the cost of a single return flight can be a larger practical obstacle than anything in the law.

The school year is the other complication that catches people out: the Australian year starts in late January and ends in December, so the long holiday falls in the English winter. Arrangements written for an English school calendar do not survive contact with that.

Situations we are asked about

A parent who has moved to Australia for work, and a child remaining in England, or the reverse.
Working out who pays for flights, who travels with a young child, and how often visits are realistic.
A proposed move to Australia that the other parent has not agreed to.
Keeping contact meaningful across a time difference of nine to eleven hours.

Money and property in two countries

Superannuation, property and savings in Australia can all be part of the conversation. How an Australian fund would be treated by an English court, and whether any order could reach it, is a legal question – the Australian and English systems treat pensions quite differently.

If a child is taken or kept without agreement

Australia ratified the 1980 Child Abduction Convention in 1986 and the 1996 Child Protection Convention in 2003, and both are in force between Australia and the United Kingdom.

This is a summary, not advice, and the exceptions and detail matter enormously. Our guide to the Hague Conventions explains how they work. If a child has already been taken or is not being returned, take specialist legal advice immediately – mediation must never delay that.

School years and holidays

The Australian school year runs from late January to mid-December, in four terms, so the long summer holiday falls across the English winter and Christmas. An arrangement written around English summers will simply not fit. The practical consequence is usually one substantial visit a year rather than several short ones.

Travel, distance and contact

A journey of around 24 hours including connections, and a cost that makes frequency the real constraint. Most families end up planning a year or more ahead, agreeing who accompanies a younger child, and using scheduled video contact to carry the time between visits.

Language and timing

Mediation is held in English. Much of this site can also be read and listened to in six other languages.

Australia is currently 10 hours ahead of the UK, so sessions are arranged for a time that works in both places. Appointment times are agreed with each of you beforehand.

How this would work

Everything is held online. Each of you meets the mediator separately first – that is the MIAM, and it is where suitability is assessed, including whether an English mediator is right for your situation at all. After that, joint sessions are arranged at a time that works in both countries, or as shuttle sessions where being in the same call is not right.

A MIAM matters only if a case in England and Wales is possible; a MIAM certificate carries no weight before a foreign court. Mediation cannot decide which country has authority, cannot give legal advice, and what you agree is not enforceable until a lawyer makes it so – so independent advice, usually in both countries, runs alongside.

Where there has been abuse or controlling behaviour, mediation may not be suitable at all: see domestic abuse and mediation.

Fees: a MIAM is £125 per person and joint sessions £180 per person – full fees. The Government voucher and Legal Aid have eligibility rules most families living abroad will not meet; it is checked individually, never assumed.

Not sure an English mediator is the right choice? That is what the free chat is for. If a mediator in your own country would serve you better, we will say so.

Questions we are asked

How do you hold sessions across that time difference?

Sessions are arranged for a time that works in both countries, usually early morning in the UK or evening in Australia. It is agreed with both of you beforehand rather than imposed.

One of us wants to move to Australia with the children. Can mediation sort that out?

Mediation can help you discuss it properly, and some families do reach an agreement. But a relocation of that distance is a serious legal matter, and both of you should take advice before agreeing anything – a move without the other parent's consent or a court order can have severe consequences.

Sources

Treaty status and official guidance checked on 27 September 2026.

This page is general information about family mediation. It is not legal advice about your own situation. Whether a court in England and Wales can deal with your case is a legal question, and it needs advice here and in Australia.

Written by an FMC-accredited family mediator Last reviewed September 2026