National Accreditation Standards for Mediation

National Accreditation Standards for Mediators

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An initiative of the National Mediation Conference and the mediation community

Accreditation Scheme Passed

At the 8th National Mediation Conference in Hobart the Draft National Mediation Accreditation System was approved. The scheme now moves to the implementation phase. For information on the Implementation Phase please click here

Quick Links

FINAL DRAFT FOR CONSIDERATION NOW AVAILABLE (CLICK HERE)

Background

Committee

Scope

Draft Standard

Consultation Process

Electronic Feedback

Consultation Schedule

Submissions

BACKGROUND - At the National Mediation Conference held in Darwin in 2004 it was announced that the Federal Attorney General, the Honourable Phillip Ruddock had approved a grant of $30,000 to facilitate a discussion on what were suitable standards for mediation in Australia. The grant was to be administered by the National Mediation Conference Ltd.

The Director's of the the National Mediation Conference (NMC) appointed a sub committee, consisting of Scott Pettersson, Helen Marks and Karen Dey (all then Directors of the NMC) to form the basis of the sub-committee. Their task was to appoint other members to the sub-committee that would be representative of:

	the various industry sectors
	the geographic diversity of practitioners, and
	suitably experienced in both the practice of mediation and also administration of mediation

COMMITTEE - That committee was finalised in 2005 and now consists of (State or Territory follows the name):

	Sandra Boyle [WA]
	Salli Browning [NSW]
	Robert Crick [ACT]
	Karen Dey [NT]
	Bill Field [TAS]
	Helen Marks [ACT]
	Franca Petrone [SA]
	Scott Pettersson [NSW]
	Warwick Soden [NSW]
	Gordon Tippett [VIC]
	Mary Walker [NSW]
	Laurence Boulle [QLD] - Facilitator

SCOPE - The scope of the committee was controlled by the terms of the grant, that is to facilitate a discussion around what are appropriate standards for accrediting organisations and how such accreditation could be administered. The committee, following consultation with representatives of the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council (NADRAC) and representatives of the Department of Attorney General determined that the current scope excludes standards for individual competencies. The committee is of the view that this may be a useful and possibly required second phase of accreditation standards development for mediators.

The Committee received several proposals from persons interested in being considered for appointment as the facilitator of the discussions. Following deliberation the committee formed the view that Professor Laurence Boulle of Bond University was the preferred candidate and terms were agreed as to the scope of his role and the remuneration and disbursements. The committee acknowledges and is grateful for his generosity in this regard.

DRAFT STANDARD - Following some discussions and significant research work undertaken a draft has been proposed for comment. The draft can be accessed by:

	clicking here for download of a word version
	clicking here for download of a PDF version
	clicking here for download of a text version (note poor formatting is endemic to this format)
	click here to view the document in HTML

Consultation Process - The following schedule represents the current consultation schedule:

	Mid-November 2005: Dissemination of Draft Proposal to all sectors of the mediation community through wide variety of organisations.
	Mid-November 2005 to late January 2006: First Phase of Community Consultation Process during which responses to the Draft Proposal will be submitted via the website.
	Early February 2006: Redrafting of Accreditation Proposal in light of responses received during electronic consultation process.
	Mid- to Late February 2006: Second Phase of Community Consultation Process involving Public Forums in major centres attended by Facilitator for consideration and discussion of proposal and receipt of comments and suggestions.
	March 2006: Meeting between Facilitator and Committee and Final Drafting of Accreditation Proposal.
	Mid-March 2006: Acceptance of Proposal by Committee and Submission to Attorney-General’s Department
	May 2006: Consideration and Approval of Proposal for Accreditation System at National Mediation Conference, Hobart.

ELECTRONIC FEEDBACK - The draft document contains a large number of response fields and additionally comments and preferences are sought from all members of the dispute resolution community. Initially, it is considered that the best methods would be:

	send an e-mail with general text comments or attaching the document with the comments embedded in it.
	a threaded discussion website (this is proposed and will be instituted in the next week or so)

to send an e-mail to Professor Boulle please click here or send to leadr@leadr.com.au (do not change the subject title of the e-mail) with the subject line being FEEDBACK - ACCREDITATION STANDARD. These will be automatically forwarded to Professor Boulle who will collate the feedback. This feedback will be used to inform the sub-committee and the facilitator of the accreditation path that is preferred.

To view current submissions (where parties submitting have agreed to publication) please click here.