Find legal advice and information
Solve problems out of court
You may be able to solve your problem without going to court using alternative dispute resolution. This is normally quicker and cheaper than going to court.
The type of alternative dispute resolution you can use depends on what your problem is about and how you want to work with the other side to solve it.
Get help to reach an agreement
You can use mediation or conciliation to ask an impartial professional to help you reach an agreement. They’ll help you and the other side consider different options to resolve the dispute.
The terms of any agreements you reach will be decided by you and the other side, not the mediator or conciliator.
Mediation can be used to resolve most types of family and civil disputes, such as:
- money disputes
- getting compensation after an accident or injury
- neighbour disputes
- making child arrangements if you divorce or separate
- making money and property arrangements if you divorce or separate
Conciliation can be used for solving problems with consumer goods and services and workplace disputes.
Ask a professional to decide the issue
You can use arbitration to ask an impartial professional to listen to both sides of the dispute and decide the outcome. The arbitrator’s decision is legally binding.
Arbitration can be used to solve civil and family disputes, such as:
Ask a professional to investigate a complaint against a company
You can use an ombudsman to investigate and resolve a complaint about a company or organisation. You should complain to the company directly first. If you cannot solve your problem through their complaints procedure, then make a complaint to the ombudsman.
Ombudsmen are free to use, and their decision is not usually legally binding. This means you can use another dispute resolution process or take your case to court if you’re unhappy with the decision.
There are different ombudsmen for different industries. Find the right ombudsman for your complaint.
When you should not use alternative dispute resolution
Some cases are not suitable for solving out of court, such as:
- cases involving domestic abuse
- issues that need urgent court action (for example to prevent you from losing your home)
- emergency cases (such as child protection)
You should get help with your legal problem instead.
Get independent advice
You can get independent advice about out of court options from: