There is a fee for mediations conducted
by Registrars of the Federal Court. The party that started
the case by filing an application is the one that pays
the fee.
Sometimes the Judge will order
another party to pay the fee. If the party cannot afford
this fee then he or she can ask the Court to waive it.
Some people are also exempt from paying fees (for example,
if they have been granted Legal Aid or are the holder
of a health care card). A form
to ask the Court to waive the fee or grant an exemption
is available from the
Court Registry and on this website.
There is no additional fee for
further mediations. If the case is not settled by mediation,
the fee for the hearing by a Judge is reduced by the amount
of the mediation fee.
There is no Court fee if
the mediator is from outside the Federal Court. However,
in that case the parties pay the outside mediator the
fee that he or she agrees with the parties. A party with
a lawyer will usually have to pay his or her lawyer's
fee as well.
