Jimmy – you’re correct. I did not spell my thoughts out correctly. The applicant indeed must show that he/she attempted Mediation and it failed in part or in whole, before getting the green light to go to NCAT.
Just asking – in many cases, your explanation of the benefits of Mediation make sense. Especially your point on determining how far apart the parties are, so that at NCAT everyone has a good idea of the chasm to be bridged. But I am involved in a couple of strata schemes where no good faith has been exhibited by the OC. In one case, an OC agreed in writing to doing something by a certain time and then ignored their promise completely. That is why I insist on giving everything (ie evidence) up front and early so as to flag that I am dead serious about the issues and can if need be at NCAT show not only the foot dragging by the OC in the time from Mediation to NCAT but also the time from when a matter was brought to the OC’s attention until it went to Mediation.