Conciliation - Conciliation Process

The Conciliation Process

How To Lodge a Request For Conciliation?

A Request For Conciliation Form must be lodged within 60 days of a worker receiving a decision about their claim that they wish to dispute.

The Senior Conciliation Officer may allow the application to be lodged more than 60 days after the decision if the particular circumstances are considered appropriate. Reasons for a late lodgement must be provided with the request form.

The request form must be personally signed. It must state clearly the details of the dispute and, if possible, be accompanied by:

a copy of the letter advising of the decision;
the “reasons for decision” attached to the letter; and
anything else which may assist to resolve the dispute, eg medical reports, copies of accounts etc.

Personal and health information is collected, used, distributed and handled by the Conciliation Service in accordance with the provisions of the Information Privacy Act 2000 and the Health Records Act 2001. See the Conciliation Service’s Privacy Policy.

Processing The Request For Conciliation

The Conciliation Service sends a letter to all parties involved advising that the request for conciliation has been received. Shortly after this letter is sent, the dispute is allocated to a Conciliation Officer, and a conference is arranged.

The Conciliation Service schedules the conference within about six weeks, but in some cases the Conciliation Officer can resolve the dispute by telephone and the conference does not need to be held. If the Conciliation Service needs to clarify the nature of the request, the conference may be delayed.

Providing Information

It is important that you provide the Conciliation Officer with any relevant documents or information. A Conciliation Officer can formally request you or another party to the dispute to provide certain information. If information has been formally requested but is not provided during conciliation, this information cannot be used if the dispute is then taken to court. (see also our Privacy Policy.)

Preparing For Conference

If you are the worker, you:

can seek assistance and advice from your union, Union Assist or WorkCover Assist, or your solicitor.
should provide the Conciliation Officer with any information that supports your point of view, e.g. medical reports, well before the conference if possible. If you don’t know what information might be useful, talk to the Conciliation Service.
should be prepared to speak about why you disagree with the decision about your claim. You may want to make notes to help you remember important points.
should consider what outcomes you would like from the conference and come prepared to discuss them.
can ask the Conciliation Service to provide an interpreter if you have difficulty speaking, reading or understanding English.
will be sent copies of any reports that were used to make the decision. If you do not receive these a week or two before the conference, tell the Conciliation Officer that the reports have not arrived.
can be accompanied by an assistant, eg a union official, a friend or family member.
may only bring a solicitor if all parties agree. You are responsible for your legal costs for conciliation.

If you are the employer, you:

should speak with your WorkCover agent and discuss the reasons for the decision about the claim. If there are work-related factors, you should speak to members of your staff who have been involved in order to get an understanding of what happened.
should provide any information that supports your point of view to the Conciliation Officer, well before the conference, if possible. If you don’t know what information might be useful, talk to the Conciliation Service.
should consider what outcomes you would like from the conference and come prepared to discuss them.
can be accompanied by an assistant, eg someone from an employer association to which you belong. Please refer to Circular to Employers – Attendance at conferences
can ask the Conciliation Service to provide an interpreter if you have difficulty speaking, reading or understanding English.
should be prepared to discuss a return to work program where it is relevant to the dispute.
should ensure that any person who attends the conference from your organisation (eg a line manager or supervisor) knows about the circumstances of the dispute, and is also authorised to fully discuss the issues in dispute and reach agreement.

The Conciliation Conference
When you arrive…

Report to the reception area and give the name of the Conciliation Officer handling your dispute.
The Conciliation Officer will meet you and introduce you to the other people attending the conference.

At the conference, the Conciliation Officer will …

explain how the conference will proceed and set out some ground rules for the meeting to ensure everyone gets a fair chance to have their say.
manage who is included in the conference room to ensure fair discussion. You will be able to give your views, and the Conciliation Officer may also ask any assistant in the meeting to add their views.
clarify the relevant issues in dispute.
remain impartial, but will ask questions, make sure you understand the views of others, make suggestions and help you to reach a fair agreement.
ensure that relevant and appropriate reports and documentation are tabled and discussed so that everyone understands their contents.
where appropriate, may talk with people in private meetings so that you all have the chance to talk about anything which you may feel uncomfortable about discussing openly, and to allow you to discuss possible solutions.

At the conference, you take an active part by …

Stating your own views as clearly as possible;
Helping to reach a final agreement;
Requesting information if you are unclear on any issue;
Listening to other points of view;
Suggesting and considering options for resolving the dispute.

What are the likely outcomes of conciliation?

After discussions, it may be possible for you and the other parties to reach an agreement. The Conciliation Officer will help finalise details of the agreement and, after the conference, send you a certificate showing the agreement. Before the certificate is issued, you may ask for time to think about the outcome or seek advice.

The Conciliation Officer may propose a recommendation for resolving the dispute. You can then consider whether you will accept the recommendation as a way of concluding the dispute.

If it becomes clear at the conference that further information is needed, the Conciliation Officer may adjourn the matter to obtain the information, or may refer a medical question to the Medical Panels for a conclusive opinion.

In some disputes, the parties involved do not reach an agreement even if a recommendation has been made. In these circumstances:

If the Conciliation Officer is satisfied that there is no arguable case for denying payment, a direction that weekly payments or medical expenses may be given.
If there is an arguable case, a certificate is issued allowing the person making the claim to take action in the court system to determine the matter.
Court action can only be taken if the Conciliation Officer also certifies that all reasonable steps have been taken by the person making the claim to settle the dispute.

Approximately 70% of disputes are resolved as a result of conciliation.

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