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Explore ways of dealing with many of the issues facing both indigenous families and Family Relationship Centres attempting to provide FDR to indigenous clients.

The presentation conducts a literature review of current published research in the area of the delivery of Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait people including reviewing the report of the Federal Court of Australia Indigenous Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management Case Study Project (2009), titled Solid Work You Mob Are Doing ("the Solid Work report").

The presenter will outline some of the key issues in the report and also current published research and integrate these issues with the practice experience of the author, to provide an overview of issues relating to FDR with Indigenous families.

The presentation will identify the barriers that confront Aboriginal and Torres Strait people when they attempt to access FDR through such agencies as Family Relationship Centres including the lack of accredited Indigenous FDR practitioners who are able to provide dispute resolution services to Aboriginal families and the absence of widespread culturally appropriate FDR services for Indigenous Australians. For example, according to the Solid Work report (2009), only twelve of Australia's 65 Family Relationship Centres (FRC) are specifically funded to employ Indigenous Advisors.

The presentation will offer suggestions for dealing with many of the issues facing both indigenous families and FRC attempting to provide FDR to indigenous clients including:

• helping FRC to develop innovative and effective approaches to delivering FRC services to Indigenous families;
• conducting community education to Indigenous communities about FRC services;
• liaising with Indigenous communities and with other ° agencies servicing those communities;
• coordinating arrangements for service delivery (eg arranging visits by FRC staff to communities);
• providing cultural advice and training to FRC staff; and
• training and accrediting members of the indigenous community as accredited dispute resolution practitioners.

Podcast: Listen to Matthew talk about this session pre-kon gres (4 mins) >>