This form is for those practising members of The Law Society of New South Wales who seek appointment to the Mediators Panel and/or the FLSS Panel.

Inquiries regarding the online application should be directed to:

Access to Justice
The Law Society of New South Wales
(02) 9926 0396
a2j@lawsociety.com.au

PRIVACY ACT 1988 (CTH) AND SPAM ACT 2003 (CTH)
The Law Society of New South Wales respects your privacy and the confidentiality and security of personal information provided by you to us. The information provided by you to the Law Society on this form will be used by the Law Society for the purposes of processing your application.

To access a complete copy of our Privacy Policy visit lawsociety.com.au/privacy-policy.

MEDIATORS PANEL

Mediators Panel members will be eligible to mediate in matters referred to The Law Society of New South Wales under the Law Society Mediation Program. Members will also be eligible for Presidential appointments and/or nominations pursuant to Court Orders and contractual provisions.

REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP

Solicitors seeking appointment to the Mediators Panel must meet all of the following requirements:

• Be a member of The Law Society of New South Wales;

• Hold a current Practising Certificate (or interstate equivalent) and appropriate professional indemnity insurance to act as a mediator;

• Have a minimum of five (5) years practice as a solicitor; and

• Hold national accreditation under NMAS/AMDRAS or The Law Society of New South Wales Lawyer Mediator Accreditation Scheme (LMA Scheme).

The Law Society of New South Wales encourages solicitors from diverse backgrounds, especially those from rural areas, to apply for inclusion in the Mediators Panel. To this end, we may exercise our discretion to allow membership to the panel.

For example:

• If an applicant has experience that does not meet all the required criteria and is located in a regional location, or the inclusion of that person may offer greater diversity to the panel;

       or

• In the case of minor deviation from the criteria, or if an applicant has other equivalent experience, the Chief Executive Officer and the President of The Law Society of New South Wales may exercise a discretion to allow membership to the panel.

Successful applicants will be appointed to the Mediators Panel for a period of one (1) year.

Please note that appointment to the Mediators Panel will lapse automatically upon ceasing to hold a Practising Certificate, appropriate indemnity insurance or national accreditation.

Please also note that appointment to the Mediators Panel does not guarantee mediation work.

FLSS PANEL

The Family Law Settlement Service (FLSS) is a specialist family law mediation program that is a joint initiative between the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court of Australia and The Law Society of New South Wales. It is administered by the Law Society’s Access to Justice Department. The program is designed to avoid the costs, uncertainty and delays of having a dispute determined at a final hearing.

The FLSS Panel consists of solicitors who are also qualified mediators. You will be required to conduct conflict of interest checks before agreeing to be appointed to the matter to ensure impartiality. There will also be certain reporting requirements that you will need to adhere to, for example, to advise the outcome of the mediation.

REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP

Practitioners seeking appointment to the FLSS Panel must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be appointed to the Law Society’s Mediators Panel; and

• Have demonstrated, in the three (3) years prior to appointment to the FLSS Panel, a substantial involvement in the area of Family Law; and

• Have devoted time to this area of practice, in each year of the past three (3) years, that is not less than 25% of normal full-time practice; OR

• Is accepted for inclusion in the FLSS Panel on the basis of appropriate Family Law mediation and litigation experience as determined by the President of The Law Society of New South Wales or his or her delegate.

• For referrals under the FLSS for parenting matters, practitioners must also be qualified Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners (FDRPs).

Successful applicants will be appointed to the FLSS Panel for a period of one (1) year.

• Applications to join the Mediators Panel and the FLSS Panel (the Panels) will be determined by the Chief Executive Officer and the President of The Law Society of New South Wales.
  

• The list of mediators appointed to the Panels will be published on The Law Society of New South Wales website.

• Successful applicants to the Panels will be appointed for a period of one (1) year.

Applicants seeking appointment to the Mediators Panel and/or the FLSS Panel for 2025 should submit an Expression of Interest form by 10 January 2025.

The Law Society of New South Wales encourages solicitors from diverse backgrounds, especially those from rural areas, to apply for inclusion on the Mediators Panel. To this end, we may exercise our discretion to allow membership to the panel.

For example:

• If an applicant has experience that does not meet all the required criteria and is located in a regional location, or the inclusion of that person may offer greater diversity to the panel; or

• In the case of minor deviation from the criteria, or if an applicant has other equivalent experience, the Chief Executive Officer and the President of The Law Society of New South Wales may exercise a discretion to allow membership of the panel.

In order to be referred parenting matters under the FLSS, you need to be a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP).

The Law Society of New South Wales receives requests from time to time to find a mediator willing to conduct a mediation on a pro bono basis. 

These requests come from various sources including directly from the Courts. 

Please be advised of the following:

• This list is kept confidential and is for internal Law Society use only. It is not published or provided to third parties.

• There is no obligation to accept a referral or to provide any reason for not accepting a referral.

• We will only contact you if the request matches your areas of practice and location.

• You can opt out at any time by emailing us at a2j@lawsociety.com.au.

Please indicate below if you would like to be contacted occasionally in relation to pro bono mediations that match your areas of practice and location.