Mediation Act 2005

No. 29, 2005

Compilation No. 2

Compilation date:   13 August 2019

Includes amendments up to: Norfolk Island Continued Laws Ordinance 2015 (No. 2, 2015) as amended up to Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment (Fees and Other Matters) Ordinance 2019 (F2019L01048)

MEDIATION ACT 2005

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

 1. Short title

 2. Commencement

 3. Dictionary

 4. Declarations and approved agencies

 5. Registration of mediators

 6. Duration of registration

 7. Renewal of registration

 8. Cancellation of registration

 9. Admissibility of evidence

 10. Secrecy

 11. Protection from defamation

 12. Protection of mediators

 13. Regulation‑making power

  Dictionary

MEDIATION ACT 2005

An Act relating to mediation and the registration of mediators.

Short title

 1. This Act is the Mediation Act 2005.

Commencement

 2. This Act commences on the day notice of assent is published in the Gazette.

Dictionary

 3. The dictionary at the end of this Act is part of this Act.

Note 1 The dictionary at the end of this Act defines certain words and expressions used in this Act. The Interpretation Act 1979 contains definitions and other provisions relevant to this Act.

Declarations about approved agencies

 4. (1) The Minister may, in writing, declare an entity to be an approved agency for this Act.

Registration of mediators

 5. (1) A person who has been registered by an approved agency may apply to the Registrar of the Supreme Court to be registered as a mediator.

  (2) The Registrar must register the person as a registered mediator if:

  (a) the Registrar is satisfied that the person has been registered by an approved agency; and

  (b) the application is accompanied by the approved fee.

Duration of registration

 6. Subject to section 8, the registration of a registered mediator ends 3 years after the day when he or she was registered or when his or her registration was last renewed, as the case requires.

Renewal of registration

 7. (1) A registered mediator may, before the end of his or her registration, apply to the Registrar for renewal of the registration.

  (2) The Registrar shall renew the registration of the mediator if any approved fee payable has been paid and the Registrar is satisfied that the mediator—

  (a) would, if he or she were an applicant under section 5 (1), be eligible for registration; and

  (b) has, since his or her registration or last renewal, whichever last occurred, undertaken any further education in matters relating to mediation that is approved by the agency or the Registrar.

Cancellation of registration

 8. The Registrar shall cancel the registration of a mediator whose registration has been cancelled by an approved agency.

Admissibility of evidence

 9. Evidence of—

  (a) a communication made in a mediation session; or

  (b) a document, whether delivered or not, prepared—

   (i) for the purposes of; or

   (ii) in the course of; or

   (iii) pursuant to a decision taken or undertaking given in;

    a mediation session;

is not admissible in any proceedings except in accordance with the Evidence Act 2004 section 131 (Exclusion of evidence of settlement negotiations).

Secrecy

 10. (1) A person who is or has been a registered mediator shall not disclose any information obtained in a mediation session.

 Penalty: (a) cancellation of registration; and

   (b) 50 penalty units

  (2) This section does not apply if—

  (a) the disclosure is required by or under a Norfolk Island or Commonwealth law; or

  (b) the disclosure is made with the consent of the parties; or

  (c) the disclosure is made with the consent of the person who gave the information; or

  (d) the person referred to in subsection (1) believes on reasonable grounds that—

   (i) a person’s life, health or property is under serious and imminent threat and the disclosure is necessary to avert, or mitigate the consequences of, its realisation; or

   (ii) the disclosure is necessary to report to the appropriate authority the commission of an offence or prevent the likely commission of an offence.

  (3) In this section

 offence means an offence involving—

  (a) violence, or the threat of violence, to a person; or

  (b) intentional damage to property or the threat of such damage.

Protection from defamation

 11. The same privilege in relation to defamation as exists in relation to judicial proceedings exists in relation to—

  (a) a mediation session; or

  (b) a document or other material—

   (i) produced at a mediation session; or

   (ii) given to a registered mediator for the purpose of arranging or conducting a mediation session.

Protection of mediators

 12. A registered mediator has, in the exercise in good faith of his or her functions as mediator, the same protection and immunity as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Regulation‑making power

 13. (1) The Administrator may make regulations for this Act.

  (2) The regulations may prescribe requirements to be complied with by an approved agency.

  (3) The regulations may also prescribe offences for contraventions of the regulations and prescribe maximum penalties of not more than 10 penalty units for offences against the regulations.

Dictionary

 approved agency means an entity that is declared under section 4(2) to be an approved agency.

 entity includes an individual.

 mediation session means a meeting between people in dispute and a registered mediator for the purpose of resolving the dispute by mediation, and includes anything done for the purpose of—

  (a) arranging the meeting (whether or not successfully); or

  (b) following up anything raised in the meeting.

 party, to a mediation session, does not include the registered mediator for the session.

 registered mediator means a person who is registered under section 5 as a mediator (Registration of mediators).

NOTES

The Mediation Act 2005 as shown in this consolidation comprises Act No. 29 of 2005 and amendments as indicated in the Tables below.

Table of Amendments