All families experience challenge at some time, impacting on their capacity to cope. Challenges may come in the form of a significant event such as an accident, injury or loss of life, the breakdown of a spousal relationship, a downturn in the economy which results in job loss or the effects of drought, which can particularly affect families living in rural communities.

Alternatively, some families experience ongoing, daily stressors or hassles, such as caring for a child with a disability or chronic illness, unstable accommodation, lack of transport, poverty, or parenting after separation. Refugee or migrant families have the challenges of adapting to life in a new country.

The breakdown of a spousal relationship is a specific challenge faced by many families. Functioning parent-child relationships can be hard to maintain and there are times when separating families need help to protect essential bonds between parents and children and to develop new co-parenting roles.

UnitingCare Community provides a range of services to help individuals, couples and families improve their relationship skills and help prevent family breakdown. Services are also available to help people during and after separation, to resolve disagreements about parenting issues.

The Family Relationships Services Program (FRSP) aims to:

• enable children, young people and adults in all their diversity to develop and sustain safe, supportive and nurturing family relationships; and
• minimise the emotional, social and economic costs associated with disruption to family relationships.

Family Relationship Centres

Family Relationship Centres are a first port of call for families seeking help. Through information and referral, the centres help families strengthen relationships and deal with relationship difficulties.

The centres can provide families experiencing separation with information, advice and three hours of free dispute resolution services to help them to reach agreement on parenting arrangements without going to court.

Changes to Australia's family law system introduced since July 2006 means that individuals wanting to apply to the court for a parenting order must first attempt family dispute resolution if appropriate. If family dispute resolution is not appropriate or an agreement not reached then a certificate can be obtained from a registered family dispute resolution practitioner confirming an attempt at family dispute resolution was made.

There are some exceptions to this requirement, such as cases involving family violence or child abuse.

The centres can also refer individuals, couples and families to a range of other helpful services to enhance family relationships.

UnitingCare Community operates three Family Relationship Centres based at Maroochydore, Bundaberg and Logan. Family Relationship Centres are supported by an online resource, Family Relationships Online.

Family Dispute Resolution

Family Dispute Resolution provides information, referral and mediation services for separating couples, regarding their parenting arrangements and the division of property and financial responsibilities.

Family Dispute Resolution can help separated people to sort out disputes without going to court. Resolving differences outside of court saves time, money and a whole lot of stress.

Changes to Australia's family law system introduced since July 2006 means that individuals wanting to apply to the court for a parenting order  must first attempt family dispute resolution if appropriate.  If family dispute resolution is not appropriate or an agreement not reached then a certificate can be obtained from a registered family dispute resolution practitioner confirming an attempt at family dispute resolution was made.

From 1 July 2008, this requirement has applied to all applications, including those seeking changes to an existing parenting order.

There are some exceptions to this requirement, such as cases involving family violence or child abuse.

For further information, please read the Family Dispute Resolution Fact Sheet.

UnitingCare Community operates three Family Relationship Centres based at Maroochydore, Bundaberg and Logan. The Maroochydore centre also offers dispute resolution in situations of spousal breakdown where there are no dependent children involved. The Bundaberg Centre also has outreach services in Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Kingaroy and Nanango (Nanango is by appointment only).

Post Separation Cooperative Parenting

Post Separation Cooperative Parenting services assist separated parents who are in conflict to develop constructive communication, in the best interests of their children.

These services provide education, counselling, and individual support. One or both parents can use the same service, because the parents never meet through the program and the information and counselling are individually delivered.

High conflict families may be referred by the courts to these services but they can also be accessed by individual parents.

UnitingCare Community offers Post Separation Cooperative Parenting Services in Ipswich, Caboolture, Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Kingaroy, Bundaberg and Mackay-Whitsunday. Please contact your local centre for more information.

Supporting Children after Separation

These services help children from separated families to deal with issues arising from the breakdown in their parents’ relationship and to participate in decisions that impact on them, where appropriate.

These services support children within the context of their families, to manage and enhance their relationships during and after separation.

UnitingCare Community offers Supporting Children after Separation Services in Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Brisbane, Caboolture and the Sunshine Coast.

Family Relationship Education and Skills programs

Family counselling is the name for counselling under the Family Law Act.

Family counselling services help people with relationship difficulties to better manage the personal or interpersonal issues relating to children and family during marriage, separation and divorce.

Family counselling may be about hurt feelings, problems between you and your partner or another person in the family, new living arrangements and issues relating to the care of your children and financial adjustments.

For more information, visit the Family Relationships Online website.

UnitingCare Community offers Family Relationship Education and Skills programs in Bundaberg. Family Relationship Support is also available in Hervey Bay, Kingaroy and Gympie. 

Men and Families

Men and Family Relationships Services work alongside men to assist them to manage a range of individual needs and relationship issues with partners, ex-partners and children.  Programs can include counselling, relationship education and parenting skills, and are designed to work alongside men's particular help-seeking and problem solving strategies.

The services are offered to men at a range of relationship stages, including pre- and post-separation, and at particular life and relationship transitions, such as following the birth of a first child or the breakdown of a relationship.

The Men and Families program is available in Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Maroochydore and Gympie.

Please contact your local Lifeline for more information on family support programs that are available near you.

• Family Relationship Education and Skills - Bundaberg
• Family Relationship Support  - Hervey Bay, Kingaroy, Gympie
• Family Support programs - Cairns, Townsville, Ipswich, Bundaberg, Emerald, St George, Dalby, Charleville
• Supported Accommodation - Clare Homes, North Brisbane
• Multi Cultural and Refugee programs -
• Strengthening families, Cairns
• Refugee Settlement Program, Toowoomba
• Refugee Claimants Support Service, Brisbane