Preparing for consiliation:

This section is aimed at representatives of the body corporate or owners of a property (members of a body corporate) preparing for the first phase of the two phase arbitration process (conciliation).

In preparation it is important to note the following:

1. Equillore encourages parties to submit a Statement of Case before the conciliation meeting takes place. The Statement of Case can include documents, contracts or court pleadings. A Statement of Case assists the mediator in preparing for the meeting.
2. Equillore will ensure that Statements of Case and filed documents are exchanged between parties and the mediator, so that all parties and the mediator are fully informed.

The early exchange of information will assist in settlement. The mediator is likely to be interested in knowing the following:

1. How did the dispute arise?
2. Who are the relevant parties to the dispute?
3. What are the key factual and legal issues?
4. What are the important points of agreement and disagreement?
5. Without reciting every action, what has occurred in the legal proceedings?
6. Have the parties held any direct negotiations? If so, what was the last offer on each side and who made the last concession?
7. What, in your opinion, has made it difficult to settle the dispute through direct bargaining? Are there non-legal concerns in the case?
8. Is there any possibility of settlement without any monetary payment?
9. Does either side need more information to negotiate productively?
10. What documents should the mediator review in advance? If the documents are lengthy, what parts are most relevant to your arguments?
11. Are the parties authorised to agree to a settlement? If the party is a tenant, he must be authorised by the owner to make a decision on behalf of the owner.
12. When it comes to the exchange of information it is important to ask yourself two questions:
    1. What information will be needed to make a good settlement decision?
    2. What information will persuade my opponent to agree to the terms I want?

Once the Statement of Case and other documents are submitted, it will be distributed to all other parties, including the mediator, by the Case Management Officer (CMO).