137,000 Fathers Accepted Defeat This Year

They never filed with court. Never tried mediation. Just accepted every-second-weekend. You're reading this because you refuse to be #137,001.

The Separation Funnel

320,000
Total Separations Annually
Couples breaking up in Australia
160,000
Involve Children Under 18 (50%)
Your target market - fathers with children
137,000
"Private Agreements" (86%)
Accepted defeat - never filed anything
16,000
File Consent Orders (10%)
"Agreed" settlements after pressure
7,000
File Contested Applications (4%)
Actually fighting for different outcome
2,100
Reach Final Hearing (30%)
70% settle during process (exhaustion, cost)

Why 137,000 Fathers "Privately Agree"

The calculation every father makes:

OPTION A: Fight in Court

  • Cost: $50,000-$300,000
  • Time: 18-36 months
  • Odds: 85%+ chance of every-second-weekend
  • Risk: 7% chance of worse (supervised/no contact)
  • Equal time chance: <1% (when both parents functional)

OPTION B: Accept Every-Second-Weekend Now

  • Cost: $0-$5,000
  • Time: 3-6 months
  • Outcome: 100% chance of every-second-weekend
Result: 137,000 fathers choose Option B every year

Not because they don't love their kids. Because they understand the statistics.

The Mediation Reality

Parents Use FDR Annually
16,000
Only 10% of 160,000
Why So Low?
90% Skip It
They know outcome: every-second-weekend

"65% Success Rate" - The Lie

Official statistics say 65% of mediations result in agreement. What they don't tell you: "Agreement" usually means father accepts every-second-weekend. That's not success. That's surrender with paperwork. The 65% includes mothers who wanted primary care from day one (got it) and fathers who accepted defeat to avoid court.

What Courts Actually Order

When a judge actually decides (the 2,100 who reach final hearing):

85%
Every-Second-Weekend or Worse
45% mother sole + 40% "shared" (mother 66%+ nights)
11%
Father Gets Sole Custody
Only when mother is seriously unfit (drugs, violence, abandonment, incarceration)
9%
Equal Time Arrangements
Includes: mother agrees, mother absent, father was primary caregiver. For functional father vs functional mother: <1% chance

The Timeline Trap

Every day without filing is another day status quo entrenches
Day 30: "She's been caring for them one month"
Day 60: "Children are adjusting to new routine"
Day 180: "Children are settled, let's not disrupt"
Day 365: "This has been working for a year"

File early or lose by default.

The 14-Year Endpoint

After 8-10 years of every-second-weekend:
  • Father has had 28% of time with child
  • Mother made 100% of decisions alone
  • Child barely knows father
  • Mother's narrative is child's reality
At age 13-14 (Gillick competency):

Child says: "I don't want to see dad." Court says: "We respect child's wishes."

Courts call this "respecting child's autonomy." Reality: parental alienation completing. Statistics don't track this. These fathers just disappear from the data.

Fight for 50/50 NOW or lose them forever at 14.

You're reading this because you refuse to be a statistic.

Sources

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics - Marriage and Divorce Statistics
  • Family Court of Australia Annual Report 2022-23
  • AIFS - Post-Separation Parenting Study
  • AIFS - Evaluation of 2012 Family Violence Amendments
  • Law Council of Australia - Justice Project 2018
  • NSW Bar Association - Family Law Survey
Get Started - Don't Be #137,001 →

Return to home • IVO Statistics