Parties must either provide their own suitable venue or will share the cost of meeting room hire
(approximately $60.00 per day per party including GST).
The cost of the mediation is usually shared by the parties (with the exception of employment
disputes where the costs are usually covered by the employer). The required length of a mediation depends on the nature of the dispute and the co-operation and determination of the parties seeking resolution. Anecdotal
evidence indicates that most resolvable disputes are completed within one day.
For a half day mediation each party is looking at $400.00 plus GST in fees and possibly $60.00 plus GST for
room hire where required making a total of $460.00 excluding GST.
When compared to the price of litigation, the question is can you afford not to
mediate?
Average cost of a two day hearing:
-
Civil litigation (contractual/commercial disputes) $20,000 plus (per party) plus filing
fees;
-
Relationship Property Disputes $15,000 plus (per party);
-
Employment dispute $7,000 plus (per party) to the first level of the Employment Relations
Authority.
Although costs are often awarded to the 'winning' party, they are
usually
capped and are a fraction of the actual cost of the litigation.
