| Australia
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has been developing rapidly in the commercial arena in Australia since the early 1990’s. There has been broad-based advocacy for the increased use of mediation, arbitration and related processes to resolve disputes within and outside of the court system.
New strategies in dispute resolution are necessary and the development of bespoke dispute resolution processes and systems for the resolution of disputes are becoming common place. Designed and tailored ADR services not only reduce the cost of dispute resolution but increase satisfaction with the processes and outcomes adopted by the participants.
ADR has also become integrated into the practices and case management processes adopted by Australia Courts and Tribunals with a vast array of different ADR mechanisms providing more useful processes for parties in dispute.
Emerging key issues in alternative dispute resolution in Australia include: the increase in mandatory referral by Courts and Tribunals to alternative dispute resolution processes and the ramifications of such referrals; the protection of confidentiality of the exchange of information which occurs during ADR processes, the ethical standards required of ADR practitioners; the immunity provided to practitioners; ensuring consistency of the quality of provision of ADR services provided; the extent that Courts and Tribunals engage in the provision of ADR services and the provision of ADR services in the broader context of the public interest.
Mary Walker has been at the forefront of ADR in Australia for the last 21 years principally through facilitating mediated settlements of disputes in the processes of litigation or arbitration. During this period, as a member of an independent Bar, Mary has arbitrated, mediated, provided expert appraisal and ombudsman services in respect to thousands of disputes referred by solicitors, industry and government bodies and corporations.
Mary is currently Chair of the Law Council of Australia Expert Standing Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution, a member of the Supreme Court of New South Wales ADR Committee, a member of the International Mediation Institute Standards Commission and International Mediation Institute Independent Standards Commission Quality Group amongst other bodies.
Mary has also lectured and published extensively in ADR. She was sponsored by Harvard University in 1995 to teach mediation with Professor Frank Sander. She is currently practising at the Bar in insurance, commercial, administrative law, professional negligence and ADR. Mary has taught in the Bar Association Reader’s Advocacy Course since 1989 and continues to do so in areas such as Jury Empanelment, Practice Management and ADR. She was selected as an Advocacy Instructor for the Australian Advocacy Institute in 2000.
Amongst other things, she facilitated and drafted the Community Right to Know Charter with ANSTO and its host community in respect to the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights. She was appointed by the NSW Minister for the Environment and by industry to mediate issues arising consequent to environmental disasters e.g. toxic waste sites and oil spills etc and was appointed to head an inquiry into the designation of Aboriginal sites in the Western Australian Goldfields for the Federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage. She was also appointed by the NSW Minister for the National Parks and Wildlife and the Minister for Mineral Resources to inquire into and prepare a report in respect to the designation of an Aboriginal heritage site in NSW. She was engaged as a consultant to the Minister of Health and Deputy Premier of New South Wales in developing criteria for the selection and accreditation of part-time conciliators pursuant to the Health Care Complaints Act, 1993 (N.S.W). Mary was previously a member of the National Mediation Accreditation Committee.
Mary has designed many dispute resolution systems including disputes arising from environmental disasters, a dispute resolution system for British Coal involving coal miners who had contracted dust related diseases from working in coal mines in the United Kingdom and recently designed and implemented a dispute resolution process for the Coal Mining Industry in NSW dealing with personal injury disputes.
