Has your national accreditation as a mediator lapsed?
There are provisions to re-instate a lapsed accreditation as a mediator in Australia. The National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS)
Note: the NMAS will end on the 30th June 2025 and be replaced by the AMDRAS.
The new standards being introduced, the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards (AMDRAS), also has provisions for people who have previously been Nationally Accredited to reinstate.
NMAS Section 6. Re-instatement of accreditation
6.1 An applicant seeking re-instatement after a period of leave of absence or lapsed or suspended accreditation must:
(a) disclose the date from which they were first granted accreditation under the NMAS and specify the period of leave of absence or the date upon which their accreditation lapsed or was suspended;
(b) meet the approval requirements set out in Sections 2.1;
(c) provide evidence to an RMAB that they met the accreditation renewal requirements described in Section 3 in the two years immediately prior to seeking re-instatement;
(d) where the practice requirement in Section 3.2 or Section 3.3 has not been met, undertake supplimentary practical training, coaching and/or assessment, as approved by the RMAB, to address the shortfall;
(e) provide evidence to the RMAB that any conditions imposed at the time of suspension or grant of a period of leave of absence have been met prior to seeking re-instatement.
6.2 Accreditation will be re-instated from the date upon which the relevant RMAB assesses the applicant as having satisfied the requirements in section 6.1
6.3 Re-instatement of accreditation in terms of Section 6.2 cannot be granted more than once in every four years.
Do you have your practice hours?
If you are working as a mediator e.g. a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner or as a Conciliator but allowed your NMAS Accreditation to lapse you may meet all the requirements for re-instatement.
Don't have your practice hours?
If you have not completed more than 25 hours of mediation in the past two years we will require additional training and assessment to refresh your skills. Find out more about our NMAS Assessment Program.
Terms and Conditions
Never been nationally accredited?
- I did training, but I never applied for National Accreditation. This post is not relevant for you. Have a look at our Experience Qualified Pathway Post
- I haven’t done any recognised training but I would like to become a nationally accredited mediator. To become a NMAS Accredited Mediator for the first time you must complete a course approved by the Mediator Standards Board or equivalent – see the Mediation Institute National Accreditation Training Course
Read on if you were NMAS Accredited in the past but your accreditation has lapsed or you took a leave of absence longer than 12 months.
There is a way to meet the requirements for re-instatment of your NMAS accreditation without having to do the full course again, detailed in section 6 of the NMAS. See below.
NMAS Section 4
Leave of Absence is able to be granted upon application to your Recognised Mediator Accreditation Body (RMAB) e.g. Mediation Institute if you are accredited through us.
You have to provide the following information:
- why – e.g. health, career or other special circumstances
- how long a period of leave of absence is required
Duration of the leave of absence.
- Less than 12 months – the RMAB will remove your name from the National Register and extend your renewal date by the amount of time that your leave of absence is granted for.
- Longer than 12 months – the RMAB must remove your name from the NMAS Register and you must comply with the requirements in section 6 to have your accreditation reinstated.
Backdating
Your leave of absence can’t be backdated (commence) more than 2 months prior to the date you apply for it.
Leave of Absence Request Form
NMAS 3.8 indicates that a mediator must meet the requirements for renewal of accreditation within two months of their renewal due date or their accreditation automatically lapses.
Section 5 of the NMAS relates to suspension of NMAS Accreditation.
5.1 When a mediator is significantly non-compliant with the Approval or Practice Standards an RMAB may, subject to the requirements of procedural fairness, suspend the mediator’s accreditation and, having regard to the circumstances, specify any conditions that must be met by that mediator prior to seeking re-instatement of accreditation.
The RMAB must without delay notify the MSB of the details of the mediator whose accreditation has been suspended and remove that mediator’s name from the NMAS Register.
The MSB may on request disclose information received regarding a suspension to another RMAB upon request.
Reasons for Suspension
- non-compliance with requirements such as not having professional indemnity insurance in place
- as a result of a complaint that has been substantiated e.g. there may have been a requirement to complete further studies or provide other evidence of ongoing competence.
- other breaches of obligations that require rectification before re-instatement
A mediators NMAS Accreditation may be cancelled for a serious non-recoverable breach of the NMAS standards.
This may relate to a serious breach of the NMAS standards, a criminal conviction for fraud or violence or similar.
If a NMAS accreditation is cancelled the RMAB will indicate what would be required to allow the accreditation to be reinstated.
2 Approval requirements for accreditation
2.1 An applicant must be of good character and possess appropriate personal qualities and experience to conduct a mediation process independently, competently and professionally. An applicant must:
(a) provide written references from two members of their community who have known them for more than three years to the effect that they are of good character, or demonstrate that they already satisfy this requirement under another system;
(b) disclose if they have been disqualified from any type of professional practice;
(c) disclose any criminal conviction;
(d) disclose any impairment that could influence their capacity to discharge their obligations in a competent, honest and professional manner;
(e) disclose if they have ever been refused NMAS accreditation or accreditation renewal or had their accreditation suspended or cancelled.
(f) comply with the Approval Standards and Practice Standards, with any relevant legislation, professional standards and any other requirements that may be relevant to them;
(g) pay the MSB registration fee in accordance with their RMAB’s practices; This fee is paid to Mediation Institute if we are your RMAB and we pay it on to the MSB.
(h) become and remain a member of an RMAB or a member or employee of an organisation with a relevant ethical code or standard and a complaints and disciplinary procedure that can address complaints against mediators; See our Code of Ethics.
(i) acknowledge that an RMAB can disclose information about them to the MSB and the MSB can release it to other RMABs upon request; and
(j) be covered by relevant professional indemnity insurance or have statutory immunity.
A mediator must have conducted at least 25 hours of mediation, co-mediation or
conciliation within the two-year cycle.
A mediator who has not met the requirement in Section 3.2 due to lack of work opportunities, health or career circumstances or residence in non-urban or CALD communities, must have conducted at least 10 hours of mediation, co-mediation or
conciliation and must attend such supplementary training, coaching and/or assessment as the RMAB considers necessary, in addition to the CPD required in Section 3.5 below, to address the shortfall.
3.4 Renewal of accreditation in terms of Section 3.3 cannot be sought or granted for
more than three consecutive renewals.
3.5 A mediator must undertake CPD of at least 25 hours that contributes to the
knowledge, skills and ethical principles contained in the Practice Standards.
This may
be made up as follows:
(a) Participating in Education (up to 20 hours) This means participating in formal structured activities such as training seminars and workshops (up to 20 hours) or attending conferences (up to 15 hours)
(b) Reflecting on Practice (up to 15 hours) This means receiving professional supervision or coaching or participating in
structured peer-based reflection on mediation cases
(c) Providing Professional Development (up to 15 hours) This means delivering presentations on mediation or related topics, including two hours of preparation time for each hour delivered, or providing professional supervision, assessment, coaching or mentoring of mediator trainees and mediators
(d) Credit for related professional CPD (up to 10 hours) This means hours of CPD completed to maintain professional licensing or accreditation related to their mediation practice, such as in law or in the behavioural or social sciences or in the professional field in which they mediate, such as building or engineering.
(e) Learning from Practice (up to 8 hours) This means participating in up to four mediations as a client representative or in a formal learning capacity (up to 2 hours per mediation) or role-playing for trainee mediators and candidates for mediator assessment (up to 2 hours per simulation).
(f) Self-directed Learning (up to 5 hours) This means private study such as reading, listening to or viewing pre-recorded content such as podcasts, or writing articles or books relevant to mediation that are published in recognised journals or by recognised publishers.
(g) Other (up to 5 hours) This means such other activities as may be approved by the MSB on application by an RMAB.
3.6 A mediator who does not meet in full the requirements set out in Section 3.5 due to health or career circumstances or residence in non-urban or CALD communities, must undertake sufficient supplementary CPD to meet the requirements before renewal of accreditation can be granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have expectations regarding ongoing professional development for Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners (as do the Attorney Generals Department) but there are no specific requirements for Family Group Conference Facilitators.
We encourage you to adopt the same principles of one hour of professional development per month as a minimum.
Usually, people do the NMAS Assessment Program which has gap training, practice assessment, coaching and an assessment for NMAS accreditation to prove that you are still competent.
NMAS Assessment Program (mediationinstitute.edu.au)
It is self-paced and available for immediate enrollment.
There are provisions in place in the AMDRAS. We will update this post once Mediation Institute has applied for and been approved to offer accreditation for mediators under the AMDRAS.
You can find out more about the AMDRAS and read the provisions yourself here – www.amdras.au
