Florens Florens Integrative Family Law
Expertise

Family law arbitration

Arbitration is a private alternative to court. An accredited family law arbitrator hears both sides and makes a binding decision, usually much sooner than a court can.

Start with a free 20-minute discovery call. Meetings across Australia, in person or online.

Sophie Pettigrew meeting with a client across a table

When negotiation and mediation have not worked, court is not the only option. In arbitration, you and your former partner agree to have your dispute decided by an accredited family law arbitrator.

The arbitrator acts like a private judge. You can agree on who the arbitrator is, which issues they decide, and the timetable.

Arbitration is mainly used for property and financial disputes. The decision, called an award, can be registered with the Court so it is enforceable like a court order.

A cup of coffee on a timber table

Faster, private and focused

Court waiting times can stretch for years. Arbitration can often resolve a property dispute in months, in a private setting.

We help you decide whether arbitration suits your matter, choose an arbitrator, and represent you through the process.

Court proceedings

How we can assist

We advise and represent you at every stage of arbitration.

Both people must agree to arbitration. It is not suitable for every dispute, and we will talk through the alternatives.

How arbitration works

A structured process, set to your timetable.

Call 1300 739 954
  1. Agree to arbitrate

    Both parties consent and choose an arbitrator.

  2. Set the scope

    An agreement sets out the issues to be decided and the process.

  3. Exchange information

    Financial disclosure, valuations and evidence.

  4. The hearing

    Each side presents its case, in person, online or on the papers.

  5. The award

    The arbitrator gives a written, binding decision.

  6. Register the award

    The award is registered with the Court to make it enforceable.

“What makes Suvarna truly exceptional is not just her legal expertise, but the humanity, conviction and genuine care she brings to those she represents.”

Client of Dr Suvarna Variyar

Looking for a faster, private way to resolve a dispute?

Talk to us about whether arbitration could work for you.

Why choose arbitration

More control and certainty than waiting for a court date.

Speed

Hearings are scheduled around you, not a court list.

Privacy

Proceedings are confidential.

Expertise

Arbitrators are experienced family lawyers.

Common questions about family law arbitration

Is an arbitration decision binding?

Yes. Once registered with the Court, an arbitral award has the same effect as a court order. Review is limited to questions of law.

What matters can be arbitrated?

Arbitration is mainly used for property and financial matters, including superannuation and spousal maintenance.

Do both of us have to agree?

Yes. Arbitration only proceeds with both parties’ consent.

Who pays for the arbitrator?

The arbitrator’s fees are usually shared between the parties, unless you agree otherwise.

Is arbitration cheaper than court?

It often is, because it is faster and more focused, although the arbitrator’s fees add a cost that court does not have.

A faster path to a decision.

Talk to us about whether arbitration could resolve your property matter sooner.

Privacy

Privacy policy

Updated October 2026

SJ Law Pty Ltd trading as Florens Family Law (“Florens Family Law”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store and protect your personal information, and how you can access or correct it.

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). As solicitors, we also owe you duties of confidentiality and protect legal professional privilege. A copy of the APPs is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.

What personal information we collect

Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. Depending on your matter, we may collect:

How we collect it

Where reasonable and practicable, we collect personal information directly from you, in meetings, phone and video calls, emails, forms and through our website.

We may also receive information from others where this is needed for your matter, including the other party or their lawyers, courts, barristers, expert witnesses, family report writers, mediators, financial institutions, government agencies and other professionals you have authorised us to contact. If we receive information about you from someone else, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.

Family law matters often involve information about people who are not our clients. We handle that information with the same care, and only for the purposes of the matter.

Why we collect, use and hold it

If you choose not to provide information we reasonably need, we may not be able to act for you.

We only use sensitive information for the purpose it was provided, for a directly related purpose you would reasonably expect, with your consent, or where required or authorised by law.

When we disclose it

Subject to our professional obligations, we may disclose personal information:

We do not sell personal information.

AI-assisted tools

We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help us work efficiently, for example to draft and review documents, summarise material, assist with research and transcribe meetings. These tools support our lawyers. They do not replace legal judgement.

Overseas recipients

Some of our service providers may store information on servers outside Australia. Where that happens, we take reasonable steps to make sure your information is protected in a way consistent with the APPs. Otherwise, we will only send your personal information overseas with your consent, where it is needed for your matter (for example, where there are overseas assets or an international parenting issue), or where required by law.

Marketing and communications

From time to time, we may send you information about our services, insights and events, or promotional material from our trusted referrers or related entities within the Florens Group. We only use your contact details for this, never information about your matter, and we do not pass your details to other organisations for their own marketing. You are welcome to opt out at any time, by using the unsubscribe link in any of our emails or by letting us know.

Our website

When you use our website or enquiry forms, we collect the details you choose to give us. Our website may also use cookies and analytics tools to understand how the site is used, such as which pages are visited. This information does not identify you, and you can turn cookies off in your browser settings.

How we store and protect it

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. This includes secure electronic systems with access controls and multi-factor authentication, and secure storage of any paper records.

We keep client files for at least seven years after a matter ends, or longer where the law or the nature of the matter requires. After that, we securely destroy or de-identify the information.

If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Accessing and correcting your information

We take reasonable steps to keep your personal information accurate, complete and up to date. Please let us know if anything changes or is incorrect.

You can ask to access the personal information we hold about you by contacting us in writing. We may need to confirm your identity first. There is no fee to make a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee for providing copies.

In limited circumstances permitted by the APPs, we may refuse access, for example where it would unreasonably affect another person’s privacy, where the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings, or where giving access would be unlawful. If we refuse, we will explain why in writing.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or complaint about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Florens Family Law
reception@florens.com.au
1300 739 954

We will aim to respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or at www.oaic.gov.au.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available on our website.

Website disclaimer

The information on this website is general in nature and is not legal advice. Family law outcomes depend on individual circumstances, so please get advice about your own situation before acting on anything you read here. We aim to keep content current, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate or complete at the time you read it.

Using this website, or contacting us through it or by email, does not create a solicitor-client relationship. That relationship begins only once we have confirmed in writing that we will act for you. Please do not send confidential or sensitive documents until we have confirmed that we can act for you.

Links to other websites are provided for convenience. We are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude liability for any loss arising from use of this website or its content. Liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.