How can my organisation become an RMAB?

In order to become a Recognised Mediator Accreditation Body (RMAB), your organisation would need to make a formal commitment to comply with the National Mediator Accreditation System Practice and Approval Standards. 

Currently the RMAB process involves ‘self-recognition’ rather than external recognition by any overarching implementation body. This might change in the future if an implementation body is formed.

An RMAB must have the following characteristics:

• more than ten mediator members accredited under the National Mediator Accreditation System

(This first criterion was amended at the recent National Mediator Accreditation Committee meeting held on 9 September to include ‘  .....accredited under the National Mediator Accreditation System’) ; and

• provision of a range of member services such as, an ability to provide access to or refer mediators to ongoing professional development workshops, seminars and other programs and debriefing, or mentoring programs; and
• a complaints system that either meets Benchmarks for Industry-based Customer Dispute Resolution or be able to refer a complaint to a Scheme that has been established by Statute; and
• sound governance structures, financial viability and appropriate administrative resources; and
• sound record-keeping in respect of the approval of practitioners and the approval of any in-house, outsourced or relevant educational courses; and
• the capacity and expertise to assess training and education that may be offered by a range of training providers in respect of the training and education requirements set out in these Standards.

If your organisation is qualified to become an RMAB, it will be entitled to become a member of the National Mediator Accreditation Committee (NMAC) under the first membership criterion. 

In order to become a member of NMAC, we would need to be advised:

• that your organisation has formally committed to comply with the National Mediator Accreditation System Practice and Approval Standards, and
• how many mediators your organisation proposes to accredit (as this affects the number of representatives your organisation can have on NMAC)

Condition as an RMAB on NMAC:

Intending RMABs will have until 16 March 2009 to become fully functional, that is fully meeting all the requirements of the national standards. After that time membership will be reviewed and only `fully functional' RMABs will retain membership of NMAC (although membership may still be open to organisations that qualify under another membership criterion). 

Please have the head of your organisation certify each of the RMAB characteristics in the attached checklist and return it to the NADRAC Secretariat by 16 March 2009.

• RMAB characteristics checklist [PDF 90KB]