“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it”
What is Mediation?
Peacemaker Hub provides mediation in family disputes, conflict in the workplace, education institutions, contract disputes and community disputes.
Mediation is a informal and cost effective way of resolving disputes. It is a useful process to undertake if parties have an ongoing relationship. The Peacemaker Hub charges reasonable rates and has a range of options to meet needs of parties.
The mediation process is about undertaking a flexible process to suit people’s needs.
All participants are required to sign a mediation agreement that sets out the mutual responsibilities of participants, including confidentiality and being open minded in the mediation process.
What is the Mediator’s Role?
The mediation process allows parties to have a structured discussion about challenging issues, that can be solved by participants mutually rather then one party seeking to win over the other.
The role of mediator is to:
- Establish an environment to facilitate a constructive conversation between the parties about their respective views
- Assist the parties to identify and focus on the key issues
- Assist the parties to develop a range of possible options for mutual resolution of the issues
- Assist the parties to reach an agreement that is mutual, and reasonable.
A mediator’s role is to help participants to identify the issues in dispute and to assist parties to develop a range of options for resolving them.
If parties come to mediation and are genuinely open-minded and prepared to try to work together to understand each others perspectives, it often leads to mutual resolutions that are fair and reasonable.
A mediator’s role does not include provision of legal advice, or an opinion on the merits, or to decide the outcome of the dispute for the parties.
Mediation Process
The mediation process involves the following steps:
Agreement to Mediate and Appointment of Mediator
- Mediation is voluntary, so agreement from all parties is required before mediation can begin. Any party may end the process at any time.
- The parties agree to appoint an impartial mediator. This is confirmed in a written agreement, signed by the parties and mediator.
Preliminary Meeting
The mediator will communicate with all parties or their lawyers to:
- Agree on a time and place for the mediation;
- Agree whether any documents or further information needs to be provided in advance to ensure all parties are properly prepared and there are no surprises at the mediation;
- Agree on the process e.g. whether the mediator needs to meet with the parties separately in advance of a joint meeting.
- A person from each party with authority to settle the dispute, needs to be present at the mediation. The parties may agree that other people be present at the mediation, for example legal advisers, expert advisers, support persons. These people will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Mediation Meeting
In the mediation meeting, this is the joint meeting of parties. Each party is given an opportunity to give an opening statement. An agenda is set, after parties mutually agree to the identified issues.
Private meetings, can be held during the mediation where the mediator will meet on a confidential basis with one party at a time. The aim of private meetings is to allow parties an opportunity to raise additional issues in private. The mediator then works with each party to reality test any proposed settlement options.
Unless specifically authorised to do so, the mediator will not disclose anything said in a private meeting, to another party.
Agreement
If agreement is reached, the parties or their legal advisers will record it in writing. The parties will sign the written agreement. Once signed, the agreement is binding.
If agreement is not reached, the parties are free to try and resolve their dispute in other ways, such as court action.
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