How neighbourhood mediation works
Before mediation
Try to resolve the dispute between yourselves before you try mediation. If you feel safe, face-to-face meetings with your neighbour can be a good way to come to an agreement. However, if you don’t feel comfortable talking with your neighbour, you can try to communicate by letter, text message, email or social media.
When speaking to your neighbour:
- let your neighbour know what you would like to talk about
- arrange to meet somewhere neutral such as a local park, where you can both sit comfortably, and you won’t be interrupted
- take a friend or family member with you if that will make you feel more comfortable
- think carefully about what you want to say before you meet
- explain the problem as you see it
- give your neighbour a chance to tell their side—listen carefully and don’t interrupt
- stay calm, even if you can’t agree on a solution at that time.
If you come to a solution, it’s a good idea to write down the details and arrange to meet in the future to see how things are going.
If you can’t agree, neighbourhood mediation may help. Neighbourhood mediation can save time, legal fees, and court costs for you and your neighbour.
What is mediation?
Mediation is a way of helping people settle a dispute without having to go to court. It involves a structured meeting with your neighbour that is guided by one or two independent mediators.
Our mediators can assist neighbours in dispute to discuss their concerns and differences with each other, and to find solutions that can work for both neighbours.
Mediators are impartial and do not take sides or offer advice, however they do set some basic rules and expectations to ensure the mediation process is respectful, fair, and balanced.
Mediation is not a legal process
It is important to understand that mediation is not a legal process, and our mediators will not:
- give legal advice
- decide who is right or wrong
- make a decision for you
- suggest what should happen after mediation
- force you to agree on something.
Mediation sessions
If you and your neighbour agree to mediate, we arrange a mediation session with one or two accredited mediators.
At a mediation session, our mediators will:
- guide you and your neighbour through discussions about your concerns and issues
- stay neutral and not take sides
- make sure that you and your neighbour have a chance to be heard equally
- make sure that discussions do not get out of control
- break down the problem into smaller issues
- make sure that all relevant issues are talked about
- help you and your neighbour to think of options that may help to resolve the disagreement
- help you to write down the details of any agreement you reach.
Your mediation session may take place as a face-to-face meeting, a video conference, or a telephone conference call.
See how to prepare for mediation.
Details are private
We keep all records confidential. We will not make anything that you say during mediation available to the courts or the public.
If you come to an agreement during your session, it will be between you and your neighbour—no one else will enforce it.
The neighbourhood mediation process
Step 1: Contact a Dispute Resolution Centre
If you're having a disagreement over a tree, dividing fence, noise or pets and would like to try mediation, you can apply using the online form or by contacting one of our Dispute Resolution Centres.
We’ll ask you to provide us with some contact details for your neighbour such as their postal address, email address, or phone number.
Once your application is received, we will assess if the matter is suitable for mediation.
We may also contact you to:
- ask for more details about your dispute
- provide you with more information about the mediation process
- answer any questions you may have.
Step 2: We contact your neighbour
We will contact your neighbour and:
- explain our mediation process
- offer to set up a mediation session between the two of you so you can discuss your concerns
- let your neighbour know they can also raise issues they want to discuss with you
- explain that our role is to help you both to sort out your concerns and disagreements, and that we will not take sides.
For a mediation session to go ahead, both parties need to agree to attend. If we are unable to get agreement or contact your neighbour within a reasonable timeframe, we’ll let you know.
Step 3: We set a date and time
If your neighbour agrees to mediation, we arrange a suitable time and date for your mediation session and confirm those details with you and your neighbour.
Our aim is to provide a mediation session within 2–4 weeks of your neighbour agreeing to participate.
Mediation sessions usually take between 3–4 hours, and may be a face-to-face meeting, a video conference, or a telephone conference call.
If your neighbour decides they no longer want to participate in mediation, we will close the file and let you know that the offer of mediation has been declined. We will not be able to tell you any details relating to our contact or conversations with your neighbour.
Step 4: Prepare for mediation
It is important that you prepare for your mediation session.
Preparing will help you to:
- have all of the documents you need on the day
- keep an open mind
- work out exactly what’s most important to you and what you want to say
- understand the best way to communicate what you want and how you feel.
Step 5: Your mediation
During your mediation session, the mediator/s will help you to talk with your neighbour. There will also be an opportunity to talk to the mediators privately.
At your mediation session you should:
- take part in discussions as much as possible
- be open and honest with your neighbour
- follow the rules set by the mediators.
You can tell the mediators that you would like to take a break at any time.
Case study
This example is a disagreement over whether to build a dividing fence.
If you and your neighbour go to mediation—no matter where you live in Queensland, or what your tree or fence disagreement is—the process will be similar.
The problem
Kate and George are neighbours in an inner-city suburb. Kate wants to build a fence between their properties so that she can get a dog.
George does not want a fence.
Kate and George talk about it but are not able to agree.
Kate contacts her nearest Dispute Resolution Centre, who agree to mediate their problem for free.
The staff at the Dispute Resolution Centre explain the process to Kate and phone George, who is happy to go to mediation.
Preparing for mediation
Kate and George both have plenty of time before their session to think about what they want out of the process.
Kate wants to build a 1.8m (6ft) high wooden picket fence between their properties and thinks that she and George should each pay half of the cost.
George does not want any fence built and definitely does not want to help pay. However, he does want to keep a good relationship with Kate.
They both prepare an opening statement before their session.
At the mediation session
The mediators starts by asking Kate and George to make their opening statements. As Kate had asked for mediation, she is invited to give her statement first.
Kate says she wants to build a fence because:
- she lives alone, and wants a dog to help her feel safer in her home
- she needs a fence between their properties to keep the dog in
- her house would look nicer with a fence
- it would give her more privacy.
In his statement, George says he does not want a fence because:
- he does not want his vegetable garden to be shaded by a large wooden picket fence as the vegetables need full sun to grow
- he thinks a wooden picket fence would be very expensive
- he does not want to help pay for a fence because he is struggling financially.
The mediators draw up a list of issues to discuss. Kate and George spend a couple of hours talking. They learn more about each other’s reasons—for example George relies on his vegetable garden to keep his grocery bill down.
Once Kate and George work their way through the issues, the mediators talk to each of them privately.
The mediators then help Kate and George think about ways to resolve the disagreement—focusing on why they want the issue resolved, rather than what they originally wanted.
For Kate, key issues are safety and privacy. For George, key issues are the cost and how a fence will affect his vegetable garden.
Kate and George talk about ways to resolve the problem including:
- Kate paying for the full cost of building a 1.8m (6ft) high wooden picket fence
- Kate building a fence made of something different so that the sun can still shine through on George’s vegetable garden (for example, a chain wire fence)
- Kate building a lower wooden picket fence that would not block as much sunlight and getting a smaller dog
- Kate building a 1.8m high wooden picket fence and helping George move his vegetable garden to another part of his property
- Kate not putting up a fence—or getting a dog—but putting in a security system.
If Kate and George reach an agreement, the mediator writes it down and gives each of them a copy.
If they can’t resolve their dispute, they will probably agree on a way to keep talking because they both want to get along. They may each need to get legal advice about the dispute. Legal advice can also help people to reach an agreement.
If they feel they need a mediator’s help in the future, they can contact the Dispute Resolution Centre again.