Fifteen principles for effective dispute and complaint resolution

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the right to processes, rules and agreement outcomes that:

1. deal with disputes, corruption, conflicts of interest or complaints fairly, openly and without favouritism
2. are tailored to local needs, beliefs and values, and are seen as culturally legitimate and accepted by the group, individual or organisation
3. are based on people giving their free and informed consent to processes and agreement outcomes
4. take all parties’ views into account, as well as the history and relationships involved
5. reinforce consensus approaches to decision making—decisions are not rushed and ‘quick fix’ solutions are not imposed at the expense of sustainable resolutions
6. enable people to actively participate in and own their decisions and solutions
7. are legal, workable and consistent so that people see them as reliable and they can be put into practice
8. recognise and build on local capacity, knowledge and skills
9. promote social satisfaction and restoration of harmony among the parties involved
10. maximise self-determination and protect hard-won legal, gender and human rights
11. are fully documented, with relevant information widely communicated, understood and accessible
12. are open to further appeal, review and mediation
13. do no harm to relationships and collective identities—they should not further exacerbate a conflict, entrench people into antagonistic positions, or wrongly marginalise people
14. recognise that some long-term disputes may not be amenable to resolution—but their destabilising dynamics should be taken into account in any solutions
15. include options for arm’s-length facilitation where external people act as mediators or negotiators, and do so by being objective, free from bias and fair.

(Adapted from Toni Bauman, ‘Final Report of the Indigenous Facilitation and Mediation Project’, AIATSIS, 2006)