[1] Cultural differences often exist due to race and ethnicity, but can also arise from religion, gender, age, sexual orientation and disabilities.
Other distinctive features occur: often native-title mediations can involve up to one hundred participants; lawyers play a minimal role; and rather than making technical legal points the speakers for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands people often talk about their family genealogies, traditions, dreaming and stories to support their claims.
More importantly, the parties must mandatorily attend a native-title mediation unless the court has granted leave.
Such benefits include avoiding negative publicity that can often entail following a trial, reduced legal fees and less time spent by management with lawyers.
[13] Note that the Australian courts, in recent[update] times, have declared a number of mediation clauses void due to poor drafting.
[17] Many Australian government agencies, professional and industry-bodies and mediation-agencies provide pro-forma agreements to mediate on their web-sites.