Welcome to Hummingbird Parenting Coordination.
My name is Rachael Hempling and I am now assisting families Australia wide as a parenting coordinator.
With over 21 years of experience as a barrister, I've had the privilege of guiding more than 900 families through the mediation process. For over 12 years, I've been dedicated to helping separating families find peaceful resolutions and move forward with compassion and understanding.
As a parenting coordinator, I bring a calm, kind, and measured approach to help families navigate difficult situations after separation and divorce. My goal is to support parents in protecting their children from conflict and avoid the stress of returning to court.
What is Parenting Coordination?
What is Parenting Coordination?
Parenting coordination is a child-focused service that helps separated or divorced parents reduce conflict and manage their parenting arrangements effectively. It supports parents before, during or after the court process, addressing day-to-day issues like scheduling and communication without the expense of returning to court.
Rachael Hempling is a skilled parenting coordinator who brings a wealth of experience in conflict resolution and co-parenting guidance. With her supportive approach, she helps parents navigate high-conflict situations, fostering cooperation and ensuring the children’s best interests remain the priority.
Rachael offers flexible online sessions, including one-hour appointments in the evenings and on weekends, to accommodate busy schedules. Her structured assistance reduces stress, improves communication, and helps parents create a stable, harmonious environment for their children to thrive.
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A Parenting Coordinator helps parents resolve conflicts, improve communication, and implement their parenting plan or orders while keeping the focus on the best interests of the children.
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They guide parents through disputes, offer effective strategies to manage and navigate co-parenting challenges with a strong focus on the children. Reducing stress and conflict from co-parenting relationships ensures optimal outcomes for your children after separation.
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Individual intake sessions $390 +GST per parent (45 mins)
Individual parent sessions $390 + GST per parent (45 mins)
Joint sessions $390 + GST per parent (1 hour and 30 mins)
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The frequency of the sessions depends on the unique needs of your family. Although, most families find month sessions work best to maintain consistency and certainty around making co-parenting decisions.
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All meetings take place online using the secure platform Zoom.
You will be provided a link and will come into a waiting room so Rachael can allocate you to your virtual room.
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It will depend on your individual needs as to whether the joint sessions are run with parents on the same screen, or whether they are run by shuttle.
A shuttle session is where the parents are in different virtual rooms and Rachael will transition between the two.
If you have a particular preference or reason for one or the other, please make it know to Rachael.
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No, this is not a service Rachael is able to offer.
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You can appoint a Parenting Coordinator at any stage of separation including before, during, and after the court process has taken place.
Appointing a Parenting Coordinator sooner rather than layer will ensure smooth implementation of your parenting plan or orders and less stress and conflict.
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It reduces conflict, improves communication, minimises court involvement and intervention, and helps create a stable environment for your children.
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No, they are distinct processes. While both aim to resolve conflicts, Parenting Coordination is an ongoing process that focuses on implementing and managing existing parenting plans or orders. In contrast, mediation is a short-term process where parents work together to negotiate and create a parenting plan or agreement.
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No, decisions or agreements made in Parenting Coordination are not legally binding. However, interim or final court orders are binding. The Parenting Coordinator's role is to help parents interpret and implement these orders effectively, reducing the need for ongoing court or legal intervention.
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The individual intake sessions are completely confidential.
However, all subsequent sessions are not confidential, and information may be shared between the parents. Additionally, the Parenting Coordinator’s records may be used as evidence in any related court proceedings.
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Yes, Rachael offers evening and weekend sessions to accomodate busy schedules.