Dr Rajesh Sharma Associate Professor, Criminology and Justice, RMIT University, Melbourne. Dr Rajesh Sharma By Lachlan Ly - ADC Intern and Final Year Combined Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Laws Degrees, University of Sydney In this edition of ADC’s Bulletin’s series that celebrates Australian ADR Award recipients, ADC Intern Lachlan Ly spoke with Dr Rajesh Sharma, who was named ADR Academic of the Year in 2022 and 2024. Dr Sharma has extensive experience in ADR, with formal training [...]

6th annual ADR Address of the Supreme Court of South Australia Suzanne Mackenzie* I am grateful for the invitation of the Chief Justice for the invitation to speak to you this evening. Before I start, I just wish to make it clear that my topic – the title for this session - is not about the resolution of fencing disputes between neighbours!  I apologise in advance for those of you who attended tonight hoping for answers to disputes between [...]

ADC offers a rich and vibrant internship programme to high-ranking students from across the world. The programme not only provides a space to enhance students' knowledge on ADR, but it is also a platform to foster cross-cultural learning and professional development. In 2025 we have hosted student interns from Australia, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Every day we are grateful for the energy, unique perspectives, and fresh ideas they bring to ADC. Meet our Intern Class of 2025 ADC extends its [...]

This year’s Australian ADR Awards Conference featured many brilliant sessions. Lessons from Antarctica really drew delegates into an area they had not previously considered. Titled The Blue Edge – Science and Diplomacy in Antarctica it featured Dr Annebelle Davis, Mediator and Expert on Antarctic Diplomacy, and Graeme Ayres, ARC Services New Zealand, discussing one of the world’s most enduring joint problem-solving partnerships. In Antarctica scientists and diplomats use the interface between their professions to achieve outcomes in their own and each other’s interests. In this [...]

By Michael Lockhart, Founder and CEO, Econation and author of One Life Wherever there are differing goals, interests, values, attitudes, and perspectives there will be disputes. After all, people naturally want to claim or protect their rights. Since many disputes (like any sort of conflict) are avoidable, they are inherently wasteful because they consume time, money, and other resources to resolve. By definition, any sort of waste is environmentally unsustainable because it causes an unnecessary increase in ecological [...]

The Peace Equation: Crafting and Connecting The Australian Disputes Centre was proud to participate in this year’s National Mediation Conference, themed The Peace Equation: Crafting and Connecting, it was co-designed by our CEO Deborah Lockhart and Ippei Okazaki. NMC2025 invited delegates to see mediation not only as a way to resolve conflict, but as a system shaped by demographics and legislation, operating across multiple dimensions of disputation including family, community, commercial and workplace. Mediation in the Commercial Setting Consistent [...]

29 October 2025 The Hon. James Allsop AC Some modest reflections upon dispute resolution: the value of a dispute resolution culture I acknowledge the Gadigal People the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I am grateful to the Chief Justice for his invitation to speak this evening. It is now more than two and a half years since I ended my full-time judicial functions, [...]

Embedding Legitimacy: The Evolving Nature of Mediation and Why Regulation is Essential By Elizabeth Jessica Manullang, Universitas Gadjah Mada Download a PDF of the essay here »

Should Mediation Be Regulated? By Muhammad Usman Shaukat, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad Download a PDF of the essay here »

The equifinality of determinative dispute resolution OR The urge to converge OR Arbigation Darwin – 11 August 2025 – 5.00pm Presented by: Dr Cameron Ford OAM SC We warmly congratulate and thank Dr Ford for his erudite ADR Address of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory 2025. Our thanks also to Chief Justice Michael Grant AO for his collaboration with ADC in presenting this annual event, and for his warm welcome to guests. ADC also thanks First [...]