Discrimination claims
Settling a discrimination claim outside the legal process
All mediators introduced by this site offer a process which is completely separate from the government Commissions1 which deal with discrimination claims in the first instance, and separate from the court/tribunal2 where the claim would be dealt with if it proceeded. The Commissions have compulsory internal conciliation procedures, but it may be that parties to a discrimination dispute do not consider that the Commission's formal conciliation process is suitable to deal with their dispute.
This might be for example, where a complainant is reluctant to start a formal process, or where a respondent prefers to have the matter dealt with without a formal complaint having being made under the applicable statute.
Mediation has a high success rate, and mediators offer a relaxed and empathetic process and sufficient time to deal with all issues, in what may well be a complex and emotional case.
A complainant should be aware however, that there are time limits which apply to bringing a formal discrimination complaint. Reference should be made to the information available from the appropriate Commission and court/tribunal.
| 1 | The Anti-Discrimination Commission of Queensland (Queensland jurisdiction) and the Australian Human Rights Commission (Federal jurisdiction). |
| 2 | QCAT (Queensland jurisdiction) and the Federal Court or Federal Circuit Court (Federal jurisdiction). |
Discrimination claims
Heading for trial? Settle a discrimination claim now
If your discrimination claim is in the court/tribunal system and has not settled, then you can still go to mediation to try to settle it.
Mediation has a high success rate, and mediators offer a relaxed and empathetic process and sufficient time to deal with all issues, in what may well be a complex and emotional matter.
Settlement by mediation is a far better way to resolve the dispute than battling the claim in court. It removes all the uncertainty and upset and is usually quicker and cheaper.