This is a post by guest author, Professor Lise Barry. Professor Barry is Dean of Macquarie Law School and editor with David Spencer and Lola Akin Ojelabi of the 4^th and 5^th Editions of “Dispute Resolution in Australia: Cases, Commentary and Materials” (Thomson Reuters). Lise is an accredited mediator and has been a member of the NSW Community Justice Panel since 2004.

On 17^th October this year, I received a surprising email from the Department of Communities and Justice, announcing that the Government had decided to close down the Community Justice Centre (CJC) in NSW and repeal The Community Justice Centres Act 1983 (the Act), which establishes and governs the operation of the service, effective 30 June 2025. Mediators are in the dark about the basis on which this decision has been made.

What a terrible loss to the community.  To understand a little about the CJC it is useful to look at its history.

CJC was established as a pilot in 1980.  Writing at the time of the creation of pilot program for CJC, Deputy Chief Magistrate Kevin Anderson wrote:

“To a magistrate who has for years been acutely conscious of the failings of the conventional justice system, Community justice Centres hold great promise. The Community Justice Centre pilot project is an important development in the evolution of law and society in this country.  The experiment deserves support.”

Introducing the Community Justice Centre Act of 1980, the then Attorney General and Minister for Justice, the Hon Frank Walker QC, echoed the hope that “the availability of mediation will ease significantly the present burden on magistrates courts in dealing with minor disputes where the cost and emotional upset involved are entirely disproportionate to the results achieved at the hearing.”  Mr Walker praised “the 106 people from all walks of life and representing most ethnic communities who have shown such enthusiasm and dedication in their training to be mediators.”

I was struck when reading about the recruitment of mediators for this new service.  The Law Foundation of NSW conducted the pilot review, noting,

“Two or three hundred people initially applied for selection at each of the three centres…. Each centre aimed to recruit a group of trainees which was diverse in age, sex, educational background and country of birth.  Further criteria for selection included such personal characteristics as tolerance, assertiveness, and ease of manner.” 

These are qualities that todays’ mediators would also do well to possess.

By 2001, the name “Community Justice Centre” had made its way into the Macquarie Dictionary, defined as “a centre offering a free and confidential mediation services as an alternative to normal legal channels in disputes between parties who have an on-going relations, as members of a family, neighbours, etc.” (Macquarie Dictionary 3^rd ed, 2001, 396).

2002 saw the development of Indigenous mediation services, initially in the Northern CJC region, resulting in accreditation of 63 Indigenous mediators trained in NSW by the year 2006.Writing about the Indigenous service in the Indigenous Law Bulletin of 2006, Bill Pritchard, Senior Aboriginal Programs Officer at CJC wrote: “The acceptance of the program by Indigenous people and communities is reflected in the number of mediations undertaken by CJCs where at least one party identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.” He noted the rise from 62 cases in 2001/2002 to a reported 258 mediations undertaken in the 10 months to 1 May 2006. 

In 2004, in preparation for a Law Reform Commission Inquiry into CJC, a survey of CJC clients was conducted and the findings published in Report 12. 76 mediation participants were interviewed, almost half of them neighbours, with approximately one third reporting that an Apprehended Personal Violence Order was involved.  Participants commented on the mediators skill, the opportunity for discussion, avoiding court and that the service was free.  Interestingly, the most common suggestion of participants was to increase public awareness of the free service. 

Success rates for CJC are high.  Report 12 noted “Of the 2,786 cases that were mediated at CJCs between 1 July 2002 and 30 June 2003, 82% resulted in an agreement between the parties.”  76% of participants reports that mediation had improved their situation. Today, CJC fact sheets report that over 80% of participants reach an agreement.

In 2005 a further review of CJC by NSW Law Reform Commission Report 16, recommended the inclusion of an objects clause into the CJC Act.  Relevantly, the current Objects of the CJC Act read:

3   Object of Act

The object of this Act is to provide for the establishment and operation of Community Justice Centres for the purpose of:

(a)  providing dispute resolution and conflict management services, including the mediation of disputes, and

(b)  training persons to be mediators, and

(c)  promoting alternative dispute resolution, and

(d)  contributing to the development of alternative dispute resolution in New South Wales by entering into connections and partnerships with the legal profession, courts, tribunals, the academic sector and other providers of alternative dispute resolution services, and

(e)  undertaking other matters incidental to the provision of dispute resolution and conflict management services.

The 2005 Report noted that the CJC mediations were conducted “by Mediators who provide their services on a sessional basis (receiving small remuneration)…”  The small remuneration remains true, with mediators currently earning $41.60 per hour – this is a role that CJC mediators take on for love, not money. 

You can imagine then how disappointed some long-term mediators were, some of whom had over 30 years of service to the community of NSW, when they were provided with two lines of thanks for their service in the emailed announcement.

One of those long term mediators was Barbara Jean Armitage OAM, who sadly passed away on 29^th October this year, her SMH obituary noting, that Barbara was a “Feminist, committed activist and crafter, life member of the Australian Labor Party. Waverley Municipal Council Alderman 1979-1997, Mayor of Waverley 1987-1997, Local Government Grants Commission Chair 1999, Premier’s Crime Prevention Council member and accredited mediator with the Community Justice Centre.”  Barbara’s pride in her service as mediator so clear and so poignant.

CJC mediators are well trained.  I fondly recall the three weeks of full-time training that I undertook before commencing work with CJC.  More recently, CJC have provided much needed supervised experience for new mediators and are a source of much needed accreditation hours for panellists for whom mediation is a passion, but not a full-time job. They have been the Recognised Mediator Accrediting Body for hundreds of mediators in NSW.

The initial email I received, advised that the Dept Community and Justice will be establishing a new inhouse mediation service for court mandated referral from 1 July 2025.  Advice to the current panel members suggest that this service will primarily be in connection with the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

While services for victims of domestic and personal violence are desperately needed, the dissolution of the CJC will be a terrible blow to the community.

In the 20 years of mediation I have completed for CJC, I have helped countless neighbours resolve disputes about everything from trees, to noise, to construction, to parking.  I have mediated employment disputes about pay, bullying and harassment and disputes over promotions.  I have mediated commercial disputes, assisted local registers to manage unrepresented litigants on List Days, mediated disputes between builders and homeowners, between committee members of small craft organisations, and multi-party disputes involving community groups.  I have assisted separating couples with property disputes and worked with tenants in disputes with their landlords and mediated disputes between parents and teenagers and between schools and chronic school avoiders. Not a single client paid for these services.

The decision to close CJC is likely to lead to increased legal costs, drawn out and escalating disputes, pressure on local councils and the Land and Environment Court who rely on CJC to manage so many tree and fencing disputes, and of course, pressure on disputants. As several of my fellow mediators have asked, what steps will be taken to manage the increased pressure on police and the court system, once CJC is closed?

Many incorporated community associations, who have a constitution based on the Model Rules provided by Fair Trading, and which directs associations to CJC for mediation in the event of disputes, will be affected by the decision. What will be done to manage the impact on these associations?

s9 of the Model Constitution currently reads

Resolution of internal disputes

• The following disputes must be referred to a Community Justice Centre within the meaning of the Community Justice Centres Act 1983 for mediation:
  • a dispute between 2 or more members of the association, but only if the dispute is between the members in their capacity as members, ora dispute between 1 or more members and the association.

• • If the dispute is not resolved by mediation within 3 months of being referred to the Community Justice Centre, the dispute must be referred to arbitration.

On Tuesday 12^th November, the Hon Gareth Ward put a question on notice to the Premier: “I have in my hand documents indicating that the Government will be closing Community Justice Centres and sacking mediators across the State, who provide a valuable service. Will the Premier reverse these cuts?”

Let’s hope the answer will be yes.

The CJC has been a cornerstone of alternative dispute resolution in New South Wales, providing free and effective mediation that has benefited countless individuals and communities. The loss of the CJC will not only increase the burden on our legal system but also deprive many of a crucial resource for resolving conflicts amicably. I urge all mediators, legal professionals, and supporters of community justice to lobby the government to reconsider this decision.