Successful completion will depend on your current skills, knowledge, and the time you have available to study. 

We offer all students two years to complete any program within the institute so you can study at your own pace. 

Under the training package, entry to this qualification is open to individuals who:

• hold an undergraduate degree or higher qualification in Psychology, Social Work, Law, Conflict Management, Dispute Resolution, Family Law Mediation or equivalent

or

• hold accreditation under the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards (AMDRAS) and have held that status for 2 consecutive years at the time of applying to the Attorney General’s Department

or

• hold the Mediation skill set from the Community Services Training Package (CHC) – also offered by Archer Institute

or

• can provide documented evidence of previous experience in a dispute resolution environment in a job role involving self-directed application of knowledge with substantial depth in some areas, exercise of independent judgement and decision-making, and a range of technical and other skills.

This program is composed of the following ten units, 6 core plus 4 elective:

• CHCFAM001 Operate in a family law environment
• CHCFAM002 Work with a child focussed approach
• CHCDSP001 Facilitate dispute resolution in the family law context
• CHCDSP002 Adhere to ethical standards in family dispute resolution
• CHCDSP003 Support the safety of vulnerable parties in dispute resolution
• CHCDFV008 Manage responses to domestic and family violence in family work
• CHCFAM007 Assist clients to develop parenting arrangements
• CHCDFV007 Work with users of violence to affect change
• CHCDFV013 Manage domestic and family violence screening and risk assessment processes
• CHCMGT005 Facilitate workplace debriefing and support services

Effective April 1, 2025, there are three primary pathways to obtain the competency requirements for FDR practitioner accreditation.

Evidence must be provided for one of these pathways:

Path 1 (this program): Completion of the full Graduate Diploma of Family Dispute Resolution.

Path 2: Demonstrated competency in the 6 core units of the Graduate Diploma of Family Dispute Resolution plus possession of a suitable qualification. This could be a higher education award in family law (or a related field of law), psychology, social work, conflict management, mediation or dispute resolution..

Path 3: Demonstrated competency in the 6 core units of the Graduate Diploma of Family Dispute Resolution plus current accreditation under the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards (AMDRAS) held continuously for two years prior to application.

Please see this link for further information. 

Work placement is structured workplace learning which is required as part of the training program and assists in preparing you for the workforce.

For this program, you are required to complete 50 hours of work placement. You will be expected to complete a logbook which will be signed off by your supervisor. 

When you are undertaking your 50 hours of work placement its essential you do this only with an accredited FDR practitioner. You must ensure their name and contact details appear on the Attorney Generals register. https://fdrr.ag.gov.au/

Generally, work placement should not commence until you have completed 50% of the training program.

We have placement partnerships with certain providers who are willing to take our students, depending on location and availability of clients. It is important to note, some of these partners charge a hosting fee.

If you are experiencing issues securing a placement and we are unable to place you with one of our partners, we can also arrange simulated options with an approved FDRP, however this attracts an additional cost.

Our standard payment plan for this program is:

• Deposit – $1,500
• plus 10 x monthly instalmensts – $745

We can arrange custom payment plans if required.