What can I expect in mediation?

This list explains what you can expect in a mediation conducted by a mediator who is accredited under the National Mediator Accreditation System.  For more detailed information see the Practice Standards.

• The mediator will be a person who has relevant training and experience and is competent in conducting mediation.  They will have the capacity to apply their knowledge, skills and ethical understandings in order to help you and the other participant/s to resolve your dispute.
• Before mediation begins, the mediator will:
• explain the mediation process and give you an outline of this process 
• explain their role
• help the participants to reach agreement about how the process will be conducted and set some goals for the mediation
• talk to you about the costs of the mediation and how these will be paid
• explain how the mediation may be suspended or terminated by a participant or the mediator
• talk to you about the confidentiality of matters discussed in during the mediation and explain any limits on this confidentiality
• give you a copy of the Practice Standards or tell you how to find one.
• The mediator or the organisation for whom the mediator works may schedule a private meeting with you before the mediation to undertake a screening and assessment process to ascertain if mediation is appropriate in the circumstances, and if so to determine whether there are any issues that need to be taken into account or to determine whether a co-mediation model or even another process is appropriate.
• During the mediation the mediator may conduct some private meetings with individual participants and some sessions with all the participants.
• The mediator will give each participant an opportunity to be heard and to hear the other participants’ point of view. 
• The mediator will assist the participants to identify issues in dispute, come up with options, think about alternatives and make decisions about the future.
• The mediator will assist the participants to think about whether any proposed outcomes are workable for them.
• The mediator will not advise you, evaluate the dispute or decide what the agreed outcome should be.  They will not pressure you to accept any proposed outcome or make any particular decision.
• The mediator will tell you if they have any conflicts of interest relating to the mediation.  If this happens, the mediator can only go ahead and conduct the mediation if all of the participants consent.