Our Contact Centre will be closed from 5pm on 24 December 2024, reopening at 8am on 3 January 2025. National Office (Aitken Street, Wellington) reception will be closed from 5pm on Friday 20 December, reopening at 8am on Monday 6 January 2025. For more information, see Court and Tribunal hours
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You may qualify for funding to pay for your Family Dispute Resolution mediation or to use the Family Legal Advice Service. This means you may not have to pay anything to use these services. It costs $448.50 per person to attend a Family Dispute Resolution mediation service. Family Legal Advice Service is a free service, but you must qualify to use it.
Whether you qualify for funding for both services is based on your income over the last three months, and how many dependants are in your care.
Find out if you qualify for funding:
| Number of dependants | Income over the last three months (before tax and any deductions) |
| You have no dependants | $5,955.00 |
| 1 | $9,430.50 |
| 2 | $13,561.25 |
| 3 | $15,410.50 |
| 4 | $17,220.50 |
| 5 | $19,250.50 |
| 6 or more | Add on $1,781.00 for each extra dependant |
You may also be eligible if you’ve qualified for family or civil legal aid in the last year. If you’re not sure if you qualify for funding, talk to your service provider. If any payment is required, your service provider will discuss this with you before you use the service.
If you don’t qualify for funding, you can still use Family Dispute Resolution mediation. You'll pay up to $448.50 for your share of the cost of the mediation. To arrange payment, contact your Family Dispute Resolution provider.
Going to Family Court can be hard. It's normal to feel overwhelmed. There are services available to help and support through this time.
Visit our help page