Before the mediation

Both parties will be required to agree on the choice of mediator, as well as a suitable date, time and location for the mediation to take place. Mediations with Deborah can be held in her newly refurbished private mediation rooms in North Quay, Brisbane. These are comfortable rooms set up especially for mediation and there are no additional room hire costs. If these rooms are not convenient, other arrangements can be made. Once these logistics have been determined and Deborah has been contacted, she will provide each party with general information about the planned mediation. Each party will be required to accurately fill in an information form and collect a checklist to ensure they are well prepared for the day.

Once this information has been collected, Deborah will give each party a call and have a brief discussion with them, individually. This allows her to lay a foundation for the case going forward and to get a feel for each party’s needs and concerns. Deborah will discuss and consider recommendations from all involved parties to decide the most beneficial approach of the mediation process.  She will decide whether joint or separate mediation will yield the most effective results in resolving the specific dispute and reaching a positive outcome.

Once the logistics of the process have been determined, mediation will commence with a full clarification on how the process will unfold, followed by a discussion about the situation and the issues in dispute.

Mediation day

The mediation process aims to effectively and efficiently arrive at an outcome that meets each party’s needs and resolves their concerns as far as possible. On mediation day, Deborah will work with both parties, either separately or joint, to promote negotiations by asking questions, encouraging open discussions, considering different points of view and communicating issues in an alternative approach, as well as reality testing options.

Outcomes of the mediation

Whether mediation is successful in amicably resolving the dispute or not, a Section 60I Certificate (for parenting matters) will be issued. The purpose of a Section 60I certificate is to indicate to the court, when filing for litigation, that resolution of the matter has been attempted prior to commencing court proceedings.

To find out more information about mediation read through the material on our blog