Claire Naidu & Co

02/10/2026

Thinking about mediation, or been asked to attend? It's normal to have questions.

Mediation is a confidential process where an independent mediator helps you talk with the other person and work out your own solutions. You stay in control of the outcome, and it is always voluntary.

Our information page covers:
✔ How the process works, step by step
✔ Preparing for your session
✔ What an agreement can look like

Read it here: https://www.clairenaidu.com.au/information-about-mediation/

Ready to talk? Book online or get in touch with us.

Information about Mediation What is mediation? Mediation is a confidential process in which an independent person, the mediator, helps people in a dispute talk with each other and work out their own solutions. The role of the mediator Stays neutral. Manages the discussion, keeps it focused and helps...

17/09/2026

Makes mediation look ridiculously good value in comparison.

$41,000 - Average out-of-pocket costs in the first year of involvement with the family courts.

And that is only the financial cost.

A significant part of my work is helping people work out what can be resolved without going further into the court process.

Sometimes that is through mediation or Family Dispute Resolution. Sometimes it is helping people who have already reached agreement turn that agreement into consent orders. And sometimes it is simply helping someone see the situation clearly enough to work out what needs to happen next.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Dh7Rhfvf2/?mibextid=wwXIfr

New research highlights the steep costs that parents face while navigating the family court system due to family violence.

Led by La Trobe, the research followed 416 parents during their first year of involvement with Australian family courts.

Average out-of-pocket expenses at $41k, spread among legal services, health care, counselling, wellbeing and physical security.

“Safety is not simply what remains when violence stops,”said lead researcher Prof. Jennifer McIntosh.

“Our study shifts the economic question from simply asking, ‘what does family violence cost?’ to asking, ‘what investments help create safety, and who currently bears those costs?"

Read more: https://now.latrobe/4gU0wxj

17/09/2026

There are some changes to some of the court forms: The Courts have made changes to four family law forms and developed a template Warrant for Possession.

The Application in a Proceeding form has been updated to reflect the requirement in paragraph 6.17 of the Central Practice Direction – Family Law Case Management that a party can only file one additional Application in a Proceeding without leave (other than in urgent circumstances relating to issues of high risk, or where the application is made by an Independent Children’s Lawyer).

The instructions to the Application in an Appeal form have been updated to note that an affidavit does not need to be filed with an Application in an Appeal if it is an application under rule 13.40 to review an order of an Appeal Judicial Registrar.

The Application – Enforcement form has been amended to include a question asking whether a family violence order is in place, and if so, requiring it to be filed.

The Notice of Request to Inspect form has been updated to capture more useful information to aid in the processing of requests to inspect subpoena material, including the details of the person making the request, and a space to indicate whether an order has been made granting permission to inspect or copy the material.

An approved template for a Warrant for Possession has been developed and is now available to be used where a judicial officer directs it to be completed.

A grace period for the use of the old versions of these forms will apply until close of filing on Friday, 16 October 2026.

As identified in the Courts’ announcement of 17 August 2026 the National Enforcement List will commence nationally on 21 September 2026 for family law financial and property proceedings.

16/09/2026

Binding Financial Agreements (BFA)

What happens if a party to a BFA dies?

Don’t assume a BFA will determine what happens to your assets if you die while still together. Provisions dealing with the breakdown of a relationship may not take effect if separation has not occurred.

It is a good reminder to consider your financial agreement and estate planning.

A recent case on this topic is - Beitel & Beitel [2026] FedCFamC1F 495 (28 July 2026) (Stewart J)

14/09/2026

You’ve reached agreement. Now it’s time to make it formal.

If you have agreed on parenting or property arrangements, we can help you document your agreement through Consent Orders.

Start with a chat about formalising your agreement.

Claire Naidu
Claire Naidu & Co

13/09/2026

07/09/2026

Movement before agreement.

Most of us know what it is like to be in a disagreement that feels stuck - where neither side is ready to shift, but continuing exactly as things are no longer feels workable.

Recent discussion about the possibility of renewed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine is a much larger-scale reminder of the same thing: progress does not always begin with agreement.

In difficult conflict, we often look for agreement as the sign that something is working. But agreement usually comes later. The first meaningful movement may be much smaller: a willingness to return to the conversation, hear something differently, test an option without committing to it, or simply imagine that the conflict might not remain exactly as it is.

The parties may still be far apart. The substantive issues may remain unresolved. But the process has moved.

I see versions of this throughout mediation, conflict, facilitated conversations and difficult discussions. We often look for someone to change their position as the sign that something is working. But the earlier and more important shift may be whether something has changed in their relationship to the conflict itself.

Are they still trying to prove something? Are they still waiting for the other person to become different? Or are they beginning to consider what might exist on the other side of the dispute?

That does not mean compromise is inevitable or that differences disappear simply because people are talking. But process matters.

Sometimes the first sign of resolution is not agreement at all. It is the point at which people become willing to engage with what comes next.

Movement before outcome. Sometimes, that is where a way through begins.

09/06/2026

Sometimes the loudest voice in the room is the one inside our own heads.

It tells us to stay.
To leave.
To fight.
To give up.

But thoughts are only one part of the conversation.

Wayfinding begins when we become curious enough to look beyond the noise and discover what is actually calling us forward.

There is a way through.
Find your path forward.

Claire Naidu
Claire Naidu & Co

02/06/2026

Most people don’t get stuck because they lack answers.

They get stuck because they’re too close to see the patterns, the possibilities, and what they already know.

For years I’ve sat alongside CEOs, families, and people at real crossroads - not to tell them what to do, but to help them see more clearly what they already sense is true.

The way through complexity is rarely more information.

It’s perspective. It’s the right questions. It’s finally being able to think out loud with someone who has no agenda except your clarity.

Claire Naidu