Online Mediation is Fast, Flexible and High Quality.
We offer you flexible and accessible dispute resolution services to help you to resolve disputes fast and for good.
Work with a team of two qualified NMAS Accredited Mediators who will give you the best chance to work out a resolution on your terms.
Online Mediation removes many of the barriers to fast and effective dispute resolution. Your mediators will use technology to manage communication and document sharing. This cuts down on costs and overheads and allows us to provide a very supportive co-mediation model.
The first step in a mediation process with Interact Online is always individual meetings to make sure that mediation is an appropriate service for you and to help you to prepare.
At a fraction of the cost of lawyer negotiation due to the more efficient and effective process, this is for people who can’t mediate directly due to the level of conflict or logistical issues.
Mediator Facilitated Negotiation is a process where you don’t have to meet or speak directly or sit waiting like in shuttle mediation.
If mediating directly is possible, do that! If not Mediator Facilitated Negotiation can help to communicate not just offers and proposals but why you think they could resolve the issue.
The process is still a confidential process where you completely control what information is shared but it has the ability to cut through misunderstandings and more quickly identify and resolve the issues central to your dispute.
If you have questions or can't find the services you want contact us. We may be able to book you in for a free dispute diagnostic or refer you to another service that meets your needs better.
If you are unable to reliably access the internet we will discuss options with you. Phone mediation services are available or we may refer you to a local mediator if there is one available. Mediator Facilitated Negotiation is a service that may be appropriate in these circumstances.
The service is means tested. Our fees reduce by 50% if your household income is less than $50,000. If you don't have any government or other financial support we will provide services for a single commitment payment. We won't turn you away because of your financial situation.
We use technology because it allows us to be more accessible, flexible and responsive. Your mediator can work with you by phone but it is much better if you can access a computer so we can share documents, diagrams and other information as well as see each other in video meetings.
Coaching can be offered as a one off session to help you to prepare for mediation or as a guide on the side. It's up to you, your budget and the level of support you want.
If you have an interpersonal or legal issue with another business we know that it is an emotional roller coaster. You may be finding it difficult to cope with the range of emotions you are experiencing. We have self-paced online courses that may be helpful to complete at this time.
$0
$242
Hardship
We have hardship arrangements in place. Contact our office to find out how we can help you to resolve the issues with professional fees that you can afford.
If you are considering legal action, or the other side is, you will spend much more money on legal representation than you will working with our mediators to resolve the issues rather than battle it out in court.
Mediation is a facilitative dispute resolution process. That means that unlike a judge or arbitrator the mediator can’t impose their solution on you. Sometimes people don’t reach agreement in mediation although the majority of people do reach a full or partial resolution during mediation or as a result of mediation.
If you don’t reach agreement you will at least find that due to the mediation you have greater clarity about what the other person wants in order to agree. They will have greater clarity about what you want. Each of you will have a greater understanding of how the other sees the issues (hint: they don’t see things the way you do)
Mediation is confidential and inadmissible which means it is safe to discuss, propose options and even try them out. What is discussed in mediation stays in mediation unless you agree.
The first step is always the pre-mediation process where the mediators and sometimes someone from our office, will contact and work with you to prepare for mediation.
The main tasks that need to be completed before mediation are:
Payment for pre-mediation and mediation is made in advance unless an alternative arrangement is made.
Pre-Mediation Information and booking link.
We can guarantee that our mediators will professionally facilitate your mediation process in a fair and unbiased way.
We can’t guarantee what type of agreement you reach or even whether you reach an agreement at all.
That is because mediation is a self-determination process where you are in control of the outcomes.
We will do everything in our power to create the right environment for agreement but the ultimate decision about whether you will agree belongs to you. That is a good thing as it is you have to live with what is agreed.
What we can guarantee is that we will undertake risk screening, refer you to additional support and resources, that we will give you accurate and unbiased information and support during the process.
If you don’t feel that you are treated fairly or that you were not properly informed by your practitioner we want to know about it.
The Agreement to Mediate explains the process and what you can expect.
Really not recommended.
Mediation is a highly specialised skill that your mediators learn in order to become NMAS Accredited.
The other important thing about mediation is that it should be facilitated by someone who doesn’t have a conflict of interest.
That means normally someone who doesn’t know either of you.
If either of you does know the mediator they will usually not mediate unless that prior knowledge is discussed with you both and everyone agrees that it isn’t something likely to affect the fairness of the process.
Yes they can and if you can’t reach agreement in mediation you might have to try lawyer negotiation.
Lawyers generally charge a lot more and their process is less efficient than mediation so lawyer negotiation will cost a lot more.
Our hourly rate is only $242 so you can have a pre-mediation and a three hour mediation for less than $1,000.
In many cases that is all you will need to reach an agreement that will allow you to move forward with a resolution.
You are likely to spend that sort of money just telling the lawyer what the problem is and getting your first letter across to the other side.
The other big difference is that lawyer negotiation is adversarial and takes a bargaining approach.
Mediation is a collaborative negotiation approach that seeks to find common ground and mutual interests so that agreements reached are agreed rather than forced by external pressures.
In most cases you can. Mediation is usually the recommended first step if you have a dispute about a contract.
When contracts are written they can’t plan for every eventuality, like a world wide pandemic for example.
It is possible you or the other person has not complied with the contract. Mediation gives you a way to talk about the issues and try and work out a resolution.
If you can’t you can still go to the relevant tribunal or court and you will be able to show that you have made every effort to sort things out amicably.
If you can sort it out in mediation you are likely to retain an otherwise good tenant, contractor, supplier or customer who you can work with to rebuild both of your businesses post-pandemic.
Probably. Our mediators are all NMAS Accredited dispute resolution professionals.
The court may have specified a service or process, if they have you have to follow the interim order.
If they haven’t we would be happy to work with you and your lawyers (if you want them included in the process) to try and reach a negotiated settlement.
Interpersonal disputes are disputes between people.
They may relate to ongoing behaviour, an incident or specific issue that has come to a head or a dispute over something specific.
Mediation for interpersonal disputes help you to speak civilly to each other, to step aside from repetitive arguments that get you no where and really work on finding a way forward and back to a respectful and peaceful relationship. Workplace mediation between individuals may be an interpersonal mediation but if it is between an individual and an organisational representative it would be a contractual mediation.
Contractural disputes are disputes between organisations or an individual and an organisation.
Like interpersonal disputes there are a variety of ways the dispute may present and the types of resolutions possible but the main distinction is that one or both of the parties is representing a legal entity rather than themselves.
This presents some challenges regarding authority to make decisions, knowledge of the issues and other complications. There doesn’t have to be a formal contract in place for it to be a contractual mediation.
