I’m actually in the middle of writing an editorial on this very issue so bear with me. But to answer 1, no you don’t need to go to mediation to pursue a Notice To Comply.
2. There is no conciliation or mediation with an NTC – the Notice is issued, If it’s ignored you apply directly for the imposition of a penalty.
There is remarkably little about Notices To comply in CTTT literature but if you download THIS pdf and scroll down to section 203 you will notice that mediation is not a prerequisite. You can find out a little more about NTCs on the fair Trading website HERE.