We deal with:

• Civil and community disputes, including those that have ethical or relational impacts

• Communication breakdowns with service providers

• Claims arising from disputes around transition, entitlements, or recognition

• Community conflicts within Ex-Service Organisations or peer groups

• Governance and role tension in veteran-led initiatives

Out of scope matters

Some disputes require other forms of support, expertise, or authority. However, we’ll always try to point you toward the right pathway, but we don’t accept matters that:

• Require adjudication, arbitration, or enforcement — for example, court or tribunal cases.

• Involve criminal allegations or conduct under police or prosecutorial investigation.

• Involve domestic or family violence, coercive control, or active protection orders.

• Require specialist Family Dispute Resolution practitioner or other specialist dispute resolution support (e.g. victim/offender facilitation)

• Require clinical, therapeutic, or pastoral counselling beyond what can occur in a facilitative dispute resolution setting.

• Depend on formal legal representation or evidence testing rather than dialogue.

• Present serious safety, mental-health, or capacity concerns that make voluntary participation unsafe or inappropriate.

• Would duplicate or interfere with tribunal- or court-annexed mediation already in progress.

• Lack clear parties, authority, or good-faith capacity to participate.

Referrals are welcome from:

• Veterans and serving ADF members (self-referral)

• Ex-Service Organisations and advocates

• Community or government support services

• Lawyers, accountants, or professional advisers

• Anyone supporting a veteran or ADF member in conflict

Eligibility generally extends to current or former members of the Australian Defence Force and, by agreement, others directly affected by a veteran’s situation.

It is common in ADR matters for the parties to share the ADR fees equally unless they make some other arrangement.
Under the WorkAccord Veterans’ ADR Program, we look first at who’s involved.

• Eligible Parties — veterans and serving ADF members — pay nothing.

• Contributing Parties — everyone else — share the fees for each phase equally, with a 20% public-interest concession applied to their portion.

If all parties are Eligible, the process is completely free.

If both Eligible and Contributing Parties are involved, the Eligible Parties’ portions are fully waived, and the Contributing Parties share the discounted fee equally between them.

Example:
A Preliminary Conference normally costs $400.

• If there’s one Eligible Party and one Contributing Party , the Eligible Party pays $0 and the Contributing Party pays $160.

• If there are two Eligible Parties and one Contributing Party, both Eligible Parties pay $0 and the Contributing Party pays $160.

• If there are one Eligible Party and two Contributing Parties, the Eligible Party pays $0 and each Contributing Party pays its share of $160. ($80 each).

Please Note:

• Where more than one Eligible Party participates in the same ADR process, each Eligible Party’s portion is fully waived. The remaining parties share the cost of the phase equally between them, with a 20% public-interest concession applied to each contributing party.

• WorkAccord will ask that any expenses outlaid by WorkAccord for the parties be reimbursed at cost.

STANDARD FEE SCHEDULE

Below is our current standard fee guide (all fees are exclusive of GST):

🔹 General Inquiries

• 20-minute phone or Zoom appointment (per party) — No charge
  To explore suitability and process options.

🔹 Preliminary Conference

• $400.00 per conference
  Structured preparation sessions prior to engagement.

🔹 Document Review

• $120.00 per document
  For reviewing contracts, position statements, or related materials.

🔹 Mediation Conferences

• Conciliation Sprint (up to 2 hours) — $900.

• Half-day mediation (up to 4 hours) — $1,800.00.

• Full-day mediation (up to 8 hours) — $3,000.00.

• Refresher (if mediation is extended to a second day) — 2/3 of applicable fee

EXPENSES SCHEDULE

🔹 Additional Expenses (if applicable)

• Accommodation, meals, travel — at cost

• Room hire — at cost

• Long distance calls, couriers, etc. — at cost

Whilst there are several different models of mediation such as:

• interest-based,

• narrative,

• insight-based,

• understanding-based -

the models have some basic features in common. Resolution Institute, the peak body for mediation service providers in Australia and New Zealand explains it this way:

“Mediation is an informal, fast, and effective process. Mediation can be used to resolve a wide range of disputes including business, commercial, family, workplace, compensation, insurance, construction, and community.

A mediator helps participants focus on the issues and keeps communication going to reach an outcome. A mediator usually sets guidelines or ground-rules to help guide the process, assists the discussion so it is fair and manages the interactions, so they are respectful.

A mediator does not give advice or an opinion, unless the participants request it as part of the agreement with the mediator. A mediator does not make a decision, it is the participants who decide the outcome.”

Conciliation, like mediation, is a facilitative process conducted by an impartial third party. However, unlike mediation, the conciliator or the parties must ensure that the outcome they reach aligns with a particular set of rules or principles that bind them - e.g., a professional code of conduct, or a particular regulatory scheme such as an anti-discrimination or privacy protection scheme.

Resolution Insitute, the peak body for mediation service providers in Australia and New Zealand, explains it this way:

“Conciliation is a facilitative dispute resolution process in which the disputing parties are brought together and, with the assistance [of] the conciliator, have discussions with the conciliator jointly or separately about key issues for the purpose of resolving their dispute.

The process is conducted under and in accordance with legislation or other binding rule which places obligations on conciliators and the disputing parties to comply with the norms and standards required by that context. Conciliations are non-determinative. …

Conciliators may use their specialist knowledge and experience to evaluate each disputing party’s position, to express their own opinions, to offer advice, and to identify and clarify issues with a view to assisting the disputing parties to resolve their dispute. (Conciliation: Connecting the dots, Conciliation Report ADRAC 2021)”.

Although WorkAccord conciliators do not provide “advice”, they do rigorously test parties’ positions and proposals by reality testing, blind-spot testing, and value testing.

A Conciliation Sprint is a short, structured process (up to two hours) used to restore clarity and momentum when communication has stalled.

It’s especially useful where:

• A recognised framework (e.g. Australian Consumer Law or a Code of Conduct) applies,

• Blockages in communication or expectations are driving the dispute, and

• The parties could negotiate directly once those blockages are removed.

With consent, the facilitator may use reality, blind-spot, or value testing to help parties align with shared ethical or procedural frameworks and resume negotiation with confidence.

Many veterans’ conflicts arise less from legal disagreement than from mis-perception, mis-communication, or a clash of unspoken values.

During mediation or conciliation, we may—with the informed consent of all parties—use three reflective techniques to promote insight and fairness:

• Reality Testing – exploring what could happen if current assumptions or options remain unexamined, helping parties consider real-world consequences without pressure or prediction.

• Blind Spot Testing – Bringing to light what might have been overlooked or misinterpreted so that each person can see how positioning, role, or experience may have shaped perception.

• Value Testing – identifying the principles and standards that matter most to each participant and checking whether proposed actions take due account of them.

These practices are part of Accord Mediation’s values-based, care-ethics framework. They keep dialogue grounded in truth and purpose, helping participants move from reaction to reflection; from impasse to understanding; and from understanding to action.

Every matter begins with a free 15–20-minute confidential call with each party (or their representative).

This allows participants to:

• Meet the mediator,

• Ask questions about the process,

• Consider whether mediation is the right fit, and

• Ensure readiness, safety, and voluntary participation.

Once the parties agree to proceed, WorkAccord provides an ADR Agreement to sign before the process begins.

Outcomes are co-created and tailored to the situation.

In addition to a traditional settlement agreement, they might include:

• A relational reset — new understandings and ground rules.

• A joint communiqué — a shared message of ongoing dialogue.

• An interim accord — short-term agreements to reduce harm and restore direction.

• A values or ethical accord — re-alignment around shared principles.

• Clearer communication and boundaries for future interaction.

Solutions reached through the program focus on moving forward with clarity and respect.

The WorkAccord Veterans’ ADR Program was developed after discussion with the Australian Peacekeepers & Peacemakers Veterans Association.

Its guiding principles are grounded in:

• Relational justice — focusing on fairness that can be felt and acted on.

• Care ethics — attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness.

• Trauma awareness - based on the findings of the Royal Commission into Defence & Veterans Suicide

Values-based mediation — informed by the Accord Dispute Resolution model.

While it sits within the broader field of dispute resolution, Accord Dispute Resolution is a structured, values-based approach to resolving disputes and restoring working relationships. It draws on practices from interest-based, narrative, insight-based and understanding-based models of mediation, conciliation, Structured Negotiation, and collaborative methods, with a focus on care ethics, clarity, and governance.

These frameworks help us work with conflict as a learning process that restores dignity and promotes ethical action.

The program is administered by WorkAccord under its reflective governance framework. Created out of discussion with the Australian Peacekeepers & Peacemakers Veterans’ Association, it commits to dialogue with veteran communities and Ex-Service Organisations during its ongoing development.

Andrew Wood
Resolution Institute Member No. 55457
✉️ acw@workaccord.com.au
🌐 www.workaccord.com.au
🔗 Resolution Institute Profile →

Accord Dispute Resolution is a structured, values-based approach to resolving disputes and restoring working relationships.

It draws on practices from interest-based, narrative, insight-based and understanding-based models of mediation, conciliation, Structured Negotiation, and collaborative methods, with a focus on care ethics, clarity, and governance.

While it sits within the broader field of dispute resolution, Accord Dispute Resolution offers a distinctive, ethical approach shaped by the kinds of challenges our clients bring to us.

To find out more about our dispute resolution services see our general FAQ section, which you can locate from the main menu.