ADR Innovation of the year award

19 November 2020

The Chief Judge is pleased to announce that the Land and Environment Court of NSW has been awarded "ADR Innovation of the Year" by the Australian Disputes Centre at the fifth annual Australian Disputes Centre ADR Awards 2020.

The Australian Disputes Centre is dedicated to advancing alternative dispute resolution across Australia and internationally to deliver benefits of world class alternative dispute resolution to businesses, professionals, governments and communities.

In a year when, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, most courts and tribunals ceased to offer their ADR services, this Court quickly moved to undertaking conciliations and mediations remotely using telecommunication and digital platforms such as teleconferencing, AVL and Microsoft Teams. The "ADR Innovation of the Year" award recognises the Court's innovation in providing its ADR services this way. The rapid adoption of the Court's innovative approach to remote ADR was facilitated by the presumption that conciliation is the principal dispute resolution process in this Court.

Deployment of remote ADR during the COVID-19 Pandemic means that the Court has been better able to meet the changing needs of the community, thereby promoting and increasing public trust and confidence in the Court and its processes.

This is the Court's second Australian Disputes Centre ADR Award, with the first award being "Courts and Tribunals - ADR Group of the Year" in 2018.

The Court is proud to receive this award and to have its innovation in the practice of alternative dispute resolution recognised.