Australia: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

Experienced mediators reveal the critical factors that separate successful mediations from failed ones, from ensuring decision-makers attend to crafting strategic position papers. Learn how proper preparation, face-to-face engagement, and pre-agreed settlement terms can transform mediation from a procedural requirement into an effective dispute resolution tool.

A Victorian tribunal found a coordinating doctor guilty of professional misconduct after an administrative error in the voluntary assisted dying process led to a patient signing their written declaration without required witnesses present. The case examines the heightened responsibility practitioners face when managing VAD documentation and the disciplinary consequences of failing to ensure strict compliance with procedural safeguards, even when errors are unintentional.

The Supreme Court of Tasmania examined whether a general practitioner breached her duty of care by failing to diagnose or refer for investigation symptoms that were later identified as multiple sclerosis. The case explores the challenge of identifying serious neurological disease when symptoms present gradually over time and appear non-specific, while reinforcing that medical standards are assessed based on information available at the time rather than hindsight.