- Control: Undertaking mediation increases the control that both parties have over the resolution. As a result, it is more likely to produce and outcome that both parties find agreeable.
- Cost Savings: Mediation is a highly const-effective solution to a dispute. Each party can share the cost of the mediation rather than paying for individual legal representation. It is also a faster process, resulting in a substantial cost savings in hourly legal fees and court costs.
- Time Savings: While a case in the court system may take years, a negotiated settlement through the mediation process may only take a number of hours (over the course of a few mediation sessions). Although the time it takes to reach a resolution varies from case to case, mediation will more often deliver and outcome agreeable to both parties in a fraction of the time (and cost) it would take to move the case through the legal system.
- Confidentiality: Mediations are held in a private space, with no court reporting or transcripts made. Mediations are confidential, with mediators having a strict Code of Conduct to adhere to (although some exceptions do apply for issues involving child abuse or criminality).
- Flexibility: Mediation provides all parties with the ability to work around employment and family commitments. Rather than responding to a date set by the legal system, parties can agree on a mutually-suitable timeframe and location. A mediation session also delivers more flexibility than the formal protocols of the Courts.
- Increased Compliance: As opposed to having decision forced upon you, mediation enables you to take ownership of the outcome. Because this outcome is a result of the parties in dispute working together to develop a mediated agreement, ongoing compliance with that agreement is usually quite high.
- Maintaining Your Relationship: Particularly with family disputes, one of the most vital elements of mediation is working towards a resolution that not only protects the relationship from hostility during the process, but also preserves the integrity of the relationship long-term.
- Support: Rather than pitching tow opposing teams against one another, Mediators are neutral, impartial facilitator who engage both parties in defining a range of potential solutions. “Turning Points” does this while providing support and understanding to all involved.
- Legal Enforceability Without the Costs: A mediated agreement, if developed into consent orders, can be fully enforceable in an Australian Court of law.
