Mediation

What happens during mediation?

Prior to the mediation, the mediator may ask the parties to provide a written synopsis recording the nature of the dispute, relevant facts and the respective interests and concerns.

The format of mediation sessions will vary depending on the mediator and the issue to be addressed. However, sessions will normally include the following steps:

• Welcome, outline of the role of the mediator, introduction of the parties and agreement on the process to be adopted.
• Each party will provide an overview of how they see the issues in dispute
• The mediator will summarise the issues of concern and areas of agreement or disagreement
• The mediator will facilitate discussion about the issues to ensure that each party understands the other's views
• For each issue, the parties will be asked to identify how the issue could be resolved
• The parties will then be encouraged to assess whether the proposed solutions would work in practice
• Where possible, the mediator will assist the parties to reach agreement on the preferred solution

Parties are expected to cooperate in good faith in attempting to settle the dispute. All discussion during mediation is confidential and does not affect your legal rights if agreement is not reached and the dispute proceeds to court.