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Financial Divide Project 

This project will prevent women who are escaping family violence from becoming homeless by providing access to small property pool assets through a no-cost, lawyer-assisted mediation pilot project.

 

Family violence and subsequent financial abuse are recognised key drivers of poverty-driven homelessness. Many NCLC clients are left with no access to funds post-separation and are unable to pay for property negotiations, particularly where the legal costs are likely to outweigh the property settlement. By providing access to free, legally assisted, small pool property mediation, we aim to address this problem by enabling women to swiftly access financial settlements that will allow them to safely re-home with their children.  

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This project will pilot a scalable Lawyer Assisted Dispute Resolution program by partnering with another CLC and Family Relationship Centre’s (FRCs). We will upskill Community Lawyers in property law, build the capacity of FRC mediators to work with community lawyers in property mediations, and test a model of swift, accessible, limited legal assistance that avoids the need for expensive litigation.