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Online Alternative Dispute Resolution

Pilot program

In 2002-03, the Victorian Government announced funding for a pilot program to develop online dispute resolution tools. The aim is to help Victorians solve their disputes without going to court, and increase accessibility to these initiatives for rural and regional Victorians.

Alternative dispute resolution reports

As part of the Strengthening Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) project, the Department of Justice commissioned a report into existing online ADR schemes, prepared by the International Conflict Resolution Centre (ICRC) at the University of Melbourne. The Exploration Report evaluated online ADR schemes operating in Australia and overseas, and investigated:

• the best practice principles for online ADR
• whether current Australian and overseas schemes meet these principles
• the range of issues dealt with by current schemes
• how these issues were dealt with
• the outcomes achieved
• their overall cost effectiveness
• the key learnings from existing online ADR schemes.

The report included a literature review of online ADR, and analysis of 76 online ADR websites with five illustrative case studies chosen from these sites.

Outcomes

The project also produced a Needs Assessment focusing on government requirements, and a Feasibility Report encompassing elements of the previous two reports, which identified recommendations now being considered with the Justice Statement.

The 'disputeinfo' website provides examples of how online formats can aid access to dispute resolution techniques and information.