National Mediator Accreditation System

The National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS) commenced operation on 1 January 2008. It is an industry based scheme which relies on voluntary compliance by mediator organisations that agree to accredit mediators in accordance with the requisite standards. These organisations are referred to as Recognised Mediator Accreditation Bodies (RMABs).

NADRAC was closely involved in the development of the NMAS but is not responsible for its implementation. The NMAS is being implemented by a mediation industry body called the National Mediator Accreditation Committee (NMAC). The NMAC, with the support of funding from the Australian Attorney-General, is currently setting up a National Mediator Standards Board to take over responsibility for administering the NMAS in the future.

The NMAS is intended to provide a base level of accreditation for all mediators irrespective of their field of work. Specific requirements that are relevant to particular fields may be imposed by other accreditation schemes, such as the accreditation scheme for family dispute resolution practitioners. Mediation organisations may opt to accredit mediators under both the NMAS and more specific field based accreditation schemes.

Nationally consistent accreditation standards have been developed to enhance the quality of national mediation services, facilitate consumer education not only about mediation but also other ADR services, build consumer confidence in ADR services, improve the credibility of ADR and help build the capacity and coherence of the ADR field.

The Western Australian Dispute Resolution Association (WADRA) has prepared background information about the system. It can be found on their website. Links to the documents are also provided below:

• Report (Current) [PDF 308KB]
• Report (Superseded) [PDF 1.2MB]
• Practice Standards [PDF 78KB]
• Commentary on Practice Standards [PDF 201KB]
• Approval Standards (Current) [PDF 32KB]
• Approval Standards (Superseded) [PDF 28KB]
• Commentary on Approval Standards [PDF 238KB]

National Mediator Accreditation Committee

An industry National Mediator Accreditation Committee has been established to fully implement the National Mediator Accreditation System by developing and reviewing the operation of the standards.

The Committee will operate for a period of two years, meeting twice per year, and will be responsible for setting up the permanent body which will operate from 2010.

The Committee’s membership comprises mediation organisations, training and education providers, professional bodies and Commonwealth and State government representatives.