NADRAC releases milestone issues paper

Australia's National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council today released its long awaited 73 page Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Civil Justice System Issues Paper.

This paper is the first step in shaping how the courts and mediation will interact in Australasia for years to come.

It identifies strategies for incentives for the use of ADR, rather than the courts, both before and after commencement of civil proceedings.

The issues paper examines options such as:

1. increasing public awareness of ADR;
2. changes to civil procedure, costs and fees to provide greater incentives to use ADR;
3. mandating ADR prior to litigation;
4. improving assessment and referral services; and
5. using ADR techniques to improve court and tribunal hearings.

Submissions are due by 15 May and NADRAC will report to the Australian Attorney‑General by 30 September 2009.

All Australian and New Zealand mediators should read the original June 2008 reference to NADRAC here and the full text of today's issues paper here or a summary here