Frequently Asked Questions

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As one of the leading providers of relationship support services in Australia, we believe healthy relationships are essential for the wellbeing of individuals, children, families and communities. We are committed to social justice, inclusion and the right for people in all their diversity to enjoy healthy, safe and dignified relationships.

Relationships Australia (Qld) offer a range of services that reflect this commitment, including counselling, mediation, education and other support services for individuals, couples and families. We help people facing a whole range of issues and at all different stages of life. Click here to read more about our services.
 

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We have counsellors available who are trained in this field of expertise. Please let our staff know your needs when you call to make an appointment.

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For the vast majority of our services we do not do home visits, however for some services, home visits may be available and in some cases form part of the program.

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Relationships Australia do not offer child care facilities, and as such, adults who are attending appointments must ensure appropriate care arrangements are made for their children.

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We will support children over the age of 6 years, but before seeing children we will require their parent or guardian to attend our service by themselves to discuss what they believe the needs of their child are. Only after this has happened will we make a decision as to whether it is appropriate or not to see the child.
We have many services specific to children such as Child Consultation and our Rebound Program.
 

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For relationships counselling we operate Mon to Fri 9.00am-5.00pm and offer some after hours appointments.
Specific services do operate outside normal business hours however this differs considerably from venue to venue. Please ask when you call for an appointment or more information.
 

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We have indigenous service delivery advisors and counsellors who work within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Our officers work within our Community Support Service which supports Indigenous community members and their families by providing links and referrals to a range of mainstream and Indigenous services which may include welfare and social support, family violence, child care, legal, housing and health (including drug and alcohol services), housing and child care.

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No. As a not-for-profit organisation our normal fee for counselling is $150, the government subsidies part of the fee for our clients so we offer reduced rate of $75 or $35 for concession card holders for a 1 hour counselling session.
If you are unable to afford this, we may be able to offer you a fee reduction. Please mention this when you call for an appointment or more information.

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Our services are for people from all walks of life, regardless of age, race, gender or sexual orientation. It doesn't matter whether you are single, married, divorced, living together or in a same-sex relationship, you can talk to the staff at Relationships Australia.

In Qld we go one step further and offer the Rainbow service. The Rainbow service is specialised support for people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Our focus is relationships and the problems impacting on you or your relationship including:

• Coming out
• Managing conflict
• Trust Issues
• Sexual difficulties
• Grief and loss
• Separation
• Re-partnering
• Family relationships
• Domestic and family violence
• Communication
• Coping with homophobia & heterosexism

If you wish to speak to a counsellor from the Rainbow service please let the staff know when you make an appointment, otherwise all of our counsellors are able to assist LGBT clients. We aim to provide the best possible counselling service in a professional, relaxed and confidential environment.

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Our counsellors are highly-trained and experienced professionals, either qualified in psychology , counselling or another human services discipline.
All of our counsellors have appropriate tertiary qualifications.
Furthermore, each staff member is require to participate in ongoing professional development and training.
The role of our counsellors is not to make judgements on who is right or wrong, rather their role to try to help couples and families to find their own answers.

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The Family Dispute Resolution process is tailored to meet the requirements of those participating.
The process begins with an individual intake session where the family dispute resolution practitioner will get an understanding of you and your situation, will make an assessment as to whether Family Dispute Resolution is appropriate for you and your situation, and will prepare you for the Family Dispute Resolution sessions.
If Family Dispute Resolution is determined to suit your needs, Family Dispute Resolution sessions which normally take 2 - 3 hours may be scheduled, and you may attend more than one if required.
The process generally includes an intake session and an between two and five additional sessions.
The agreements reached in Family Dispute Resolution are not in themselves legally binding but are drawn in good faith. If you wish the practitioner can discuss with you how these agreements can be made legally binding.

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Counselling involves sitting and talking with a counsellor about any difficulties that you are experiencing, whether it be within your relationship or issues external to it.
Counselling will assist you to find ways to manage your situation more effectively.
You can attend counselling as an individual, couple, or as a family. Counselling for children is also available.
People come to counselling to discuss couple issues, conflicts with friends,
relationship breakdown, parenting, domestic violence, anxiety, depression, grief, sexual problems, childhood sexual abuse, stress and work related tensions and disputes.
Counselling sessions are totally confidential. Each session usually takes 1 hour.
 

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View a list of Relationships Australia (QLD) Locations.

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Please check our Employment page to find out about current job vacancies.

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Relationships Australia is not a crisis service. Our services are best utilised before you reach a crisis point. If you are in crisis and need to speak with someone immediately, please call one of the following 24 hour crisis help lines:

Lifeline - 131114
Kids Help Line – 1800 55 1800
Men’s Line – 1300 78 9978
Salvation Army - 1300 363 622
 

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You do not need a referral to use most of the services offered by Relationships Australia. Simply call 1300 364 277 to make an appointment or for information.

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Please visit our professional resources page for more information.

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We have a number of brochures and booklets available for download. Click here.
If you would like to order stock specifically, please call 1300 364 277.
 

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A number of our services are free.
We are a not-for-profit community organisation and only partially funded by the government, so fees are normally charged. However, we do try to make our services as affordable as possible.
Our fees for counselling are $75 or $35 for concession card holders for a 1 hour counselling session.

Family Dispute Resolution Sessions are $35.00 per party for the intake session and $75.00 per party.
If you are unable to afford this, we have fee reduction available to all our clients.
We also offer a number of our services at no cost to the client, call 1300 364 277 to find out more.
 

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No, we do not currently offer online counselling. You can book a face-to-face counselling session by calling 1300 364 277. In some circumstances our services are available over the telephone.