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ASSESSING COMPLEXITY
The assessment of complexity is the subject of many
books articles and training courses. Most family law
jurisdictions require that ADR practitioners undertake
mandatory training in the screening for, and risk
assessment of family safety and other complexities. At
the same time, we are aware of a general increase in
case complexity, combined with a growing
unavailability of courts and judicial systems, across
most jurisdictions. Recently, we have sought to
simplify the decision making processes with respect to
case complexity employing the form of a traffic light
classification system to decision making about case
suitability (Graham and Watson 2016).

We would argue that Green cases may proceed
because low or no complexity has been identified at
this time (of course ongoing assessment is necessary).
At the other extreme Red cases are those that are not
appropriate to enter into any ADR process - due to the
presence of uncontrolled complexity - that appear to
be worsening with no support/mitigating factors
present at all. The Orange and Yellow cases fall
between the Green and Red case classifications.

These four levels are briefly outlined below:
Green Risk: Lowest risk across the whole family
system. No known complexity.
Yellow Risk: Slight risk to individuals or the family,
due to historic complexity. No or low
level fears or concerns reported.