Back to Basics

Mediation, ADR, conciliation and facilitation are the buzz words of the business and legal worlds at the moment.
 
But what do these words actually mean?
 
To sort the wheat from the chaff, I’ve included an explanation below of each of these alternative dispute resolution terms. I’ve based them on the definitions from the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council (NADRAC) who are the overseers of ADR in Australia but I’ve tried to make them sound slightly less like I had copied them from a dictionary.
 
ADR is an umbrella term for all the different processes that involve an impartial third party assisting those in a dispute to resolve the issues between them. An exception to this is a matter decided by a judge. These disputes don’t fall within the ADR umbrella and instead are resolved by a judicial outcome. ADR is commonly used as an abbreviation for alternative dispute resolution, but can also be used to mean assisted or appropriate dispute resolution. Conciliation, facilitation and mediation are all types of ADR.

Conciliation involves a dispute resolution practitioner (the conciliator) helping the parties in dispute to identify the issues they are arguing about, develop options, consider alternatives and try to reach an agreement. A conciliator will provide advice on the matters in dispute and/or options for resolution, but will not make a determination. This means the conciliator won’t decide the outcome of the matter like a judge would.

Facilitation is a process in which the participants (usually a group) use a dispute resolution practitioner (the facilitator) to help them identify problems to be solved, tasks to be accomplished or disputed issues to be resolved. Facilitation generally stops there; however sometimes the facilitator may continue to assist the participants to develop options, consider alternatives and try to reach an agreement. The facilitator doesn’t provide advice on the issues being discussed or how the matter can be resolved.

Mediation is much like conciliation in that a dispute resolution practitioner (the mediator) will help the parties in dispute to identify the issues they are arguing about, develop options, consider alternatives and try to reach an agreement. Like a conciliator, the mediator does not decide the outcome of the dispute but unlike a conciliator, they don’t provide advice about the issues being discussed or how the dispute could be resolved. Mediation may be undertaken voluntarily, under a court order, or subject to an existing contractual agreement.

For a more comprehensive overview of ADR terms, visit NADRAC’s website here.