Family Group Conference Facilitator Members
Certified FGC Facilitators.
- Certified that they have completed training in the methodology
- Independent Complaint Handling Service provided by Mediation Institute.
- Private Practitioners are available to help facilitate family meetings and family led decision making.
Find a Family Group Conference Facilitator
Mi members who facilitate Family Group Conferences have completed training in the methodology, practise under a code of ethics, and have an independent complaint handling service behind them.
Browse our FGC facilitators
Search by state or postcode, then click through to a facilitator's profile to read about their practice and contact them directly using the form there.
What does an FGC facilitator do?
A Family Group Conference facilitator prepares a family for a conference and runs the day, so the family can make its own plan for a child, young person or other vulnerable family member. They meet everyone beforehand, work out with the family who should be there, get the referring agency to state its bottom lines plainly, and prepare the children and young people who will take part.
On the day they hold the structure and then, at the crucial moment, leave the room so the family can plan privately. They do not make the decisions and they do not write the plan.
If you would like to understand the process before engaging anyone, we have a full walk through of how a Family Group Conference works and a set of frequently asked questions.
Why use a Mi member?
Trained in the methodology
Every FGC member has completed facilitator training and holds a certificate confirming it.
Independent complaints service
If something goes wrong, there is somewhere to take it that is not the facilitator's own business.
Good character requirements
Members must meet our requirements and practise under our code of ethics and conduct.
Ongoing development
Members take part in continuing professional development and peer supervision specific to FGC work.
A word about independence
There is still no government or industry standard for Family Group Conference facilitators in Australia, which means anyone can use the title. It also means the checks that exist elsewhere are worth looking for deliberately.
Independence matters more here than in most processes. A family that believes the person running the conference answers to the agency that could remove their children will hold back, and private family time stops doing its job. Engaging an independent facilitator with professional membership behind them is the clearest way to show a family that the process is genuinely theirs.
Who engages a facilitator?
Agencies and organisations
Child protection agencies, out of home care providers, community services, schools and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations engage independent facilitators to run conferences for the families they work with. Our members work across Australia, some as sole practitioners and some through organisations.
Families
If child protection is involved, a conference is normally arranged through your caseworker rather than engaged by you directly. Ask them whether a Family Group Conference is available and whether you can have a say in who facilitates it. Outside that context, in aged care, disability or wider family planning, families and their advisers can engage a facilitator privately.
Ready to find someone?
The directory lists Mi members who facilitate Family Group Conferences and have chosen to list publicly.
Are you an FGC facilitator? Find out about Mi membership and being listed here, or about our Family Group Conference Facilitator Training.
