Dispute Management Plan

January 2015

Dispute Management Plan

1. What is the Plan? What are its Objectives?

The Dispute Management Plan (the Plan) has been prepared to enable the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (the MDBA) to efficiently and proactively manage disputes arising from the MDBA’s role as a statutory agency. The MDBA undertakes to manage all disputes in accordance with this Plan and will endeavour to review the Plan on an annual basis.

The Plan presents a recommended approach to dispute management based around the three key Objectives:

1. Identify and manage complaints in a timely fashion.

2. Promote a culture of active dispute management that involves engaging with disputants.

3. Record and use information about disputes in an appropriate manner.

Dispute management in the MDBA plays a critical role in improving the MDBA’s ability to meet its organisational objectives effectively and to productively engage with stakeholders and the general community. The MDBA is committed to making transparent and accountable decision making when performing its functions. It also encourages feedback from individuals and parties affected by the decisions it makes.

The Water Act 2007 (Cth) prescribes a number of functions for the MDBA, including disseminating information about the Basin's water resources, and engaging and educating the Australian community about the Basin’s water resources. The MDBA must always ensure that its interaction with stakeholders and the general community fulfills legislative requirements and delivers a level of satisfaction to the Murray–Darling Basin community.

Furthermore, the MDBA has a legal obligation to engage with disputants in ways which uphold the Australian Public Service (APS) Values and Code of Conduct, and implement the Plan in accordance with the Legal Services Directions 2005 (Cth).

The MDBA is committed to meeting a high standard of service delivery to the Australian public. The Plan sets out the MDBA’s objectives in the management of disputes and provides for options with regards to the resolution of disputes. More detail about these Objectives can be found in Section 6 of this Plan.

2. What is the context for this Plan?This Plan is consistent with the guide developed by the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council (NADRAC), which aims to assist Commonwealth agencies to develop and regularly review the way we manage disputes.

The Plan also supports the MDBA’s Strategic Plan 2012-2015, which has the strategic goal of ‘managing, coordinating and sustaining long-term strategic relationships with agencies, industry

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Dispute Management Plan

groups, scientists and local communities’. It also supports the MDBA’s guiding principles of adhering to the APS Values and Code of Conduct, supporting collaboration by dealing with others with courtesy, and making our decisions and processes transparent.

3. What are common disputes arising at the MDBA?The MDBA acknowledges that disputes may arise in a variety of circumstances. The most common and recurring concerns that can drive disputes in the MDBA include:

where information or a process is not communicated or is incorrectly explained, e.g. on the MDBA’s website, in a community consultation process, or to or by staff;

where staff are not responsive to queries, or are not appropriately trained or resourced to deal with people, particularly those from diverse backgrounds;

where a procurement process is unsuccessful for a tenderer and the tenderer states their dissatisfaction;

where decisions have been made, but not communicated or explained well. Typical examples of this are adverse outcomes in a Statement of Reasons; or

where a privacy complaint arises, where personal information is used for purposes other than for which it was collected.

4. What are the types of disputes covered by this Plan?The following are types of disputes that may be covered by this Plan:

Decision disputes: For example, these disputes arise where a person disputes or

challenges an MDBA decision, e.g. a decision made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) , a decision under the Water Act 2007 (Cth) or Basin Plan 2012 (Cth) .

Procedural disputes: For example, these disputes arise where a person argues that the

MDBA has failed to act in accordance with procedures prescribed in legislation or in

accordance with its own policies and procedures or failed to put in place an appropriate

process for undertaking its functions e.g. privacy breaches.

Corporate disputes: For example, these disputes arise in relation to matters including

employment and procurement.

5. What are the key principles of resolving disputes?The MDBA acknowledges the following principles are guides to shape dispute management within the agency. These form the basis for guiding how the MDBA can approach a dispute.

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Merits of the dispute should be assessed in a timely fashionThe merits of each dispute, including the risks for the MDBA, should be assessed in a timely fashion, and considered as soon as reasonably practicable.

Resolution should be respectfulDisputes should be managed in an honest and respectful manner, which upholds the highest ethical standards of public governance, in line with the APS Values and Code of Conduct.

Disputes should be acted upon diligentlyMDBA staff have a responsibility to take genuine steps to resolve or clarify disputes and should be supported to meet this responsibility by the MDBA. This principle will be upheld by MDBA staff showing their commitment to dispute resolution processes by listening to all viewpoints, and by putting forward and considering options in resolving the dispute. Additionally, MDBA staff should have access to information that enables them to choose suitable dispute resolution processes. Investing in the capacity of communication and dispute resolution skills of MDBA staff will also help uphold these principles.

6. How should we prevent and manage disputes?

Our Dispute Management StrategyThe key purpose of this Plan is to ensure a consistent and effective approach to managing disputes. We can achieve this by structuring our strategy to managing disputes around three key Objectives.

The approach we take at the MDBA will be most useful when it is proportionate (in terms of time, effort and cost) to the issues raised in the complaint or dispute.

Objective 1

Identify and manage complaints in a timely fashion

At the MDBA, we have a responsibility to minimise issues and complaints escalating into disputes by being:

interested, courteous and an active listener; and

fair and flexible, and engaging with concerns as early as possible.

This can be achieved by:

- valuing and building capacity in communication and dispute resolution

- providing and communicating appropriate information to people both verbally and in writing to ensure transparency;

- providing opportunities for feedback to be given;

- applying the MDBA’s complaints management process; and

- ensuring timely responses to complaints.

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Objective 2

Promote a culture of active dispute management that involves engaging with disputants

At the MDBA, we have a responsibility to:

assess each dispute on an individual basis (including risks for the MDBA), and identify the most appropriate way to manage it; and

take genuine steps to resolve or clarify disputes in the simplest, most appropriate and cost-effective way.

This can be achieved by:

- listening to alternate views and putting forward options to resolve a dispute. This promotes collaborative problem solving. An example of this is to investigate the dispute by discussing with the respondent as to his/her version of the issue as well as listening to the complainant;

- ensure responses to complaints are dealt with diligently and by providing a response and follow-up to the complainant;

- providing training opportunities to staff for dispute management, and ensuring all new and current employees are aware of this Plan and related policies;

- seeking out information to enable staff to choose the most appropriate form of dispute resolution processes.

Objective 3

Record and use information about disputes in an appropriate manner

At the MDBA, we have a responsibility to:

accurately record and report information about disputes; and

analyse information collected about disputes to assist in improving policies and practices about dispute management.

This can be achieved by:

- using the MDBA’s complaints management process;

- recording the risk rating as well as other important factors about the dispute;

- informing the Executive of the occurrence of disputes; and

- using information recorded to inform future reviews for improvement of the Plan.

7. Roles and responsibilitiesThe success of this Plan is a shared responsibility across all areas of the MDBA.

The MDBA is responsible for supporting the objectives and key principles of the Plan through compliance with applicable regulatory requirements (Section 9), the key principles (Section 5) and the key objectives (Section 6).

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Executive Directors

Executive Directors and their staff are responsible for implementing this Plan and actively promoting a culture of dispute management within the MDBA. Each Division is responsible for ensuring that appropriate training, skills and processes exist.

The relevant Executive Director involved in each dispute must ultimately be satisfied that disputes are being dealt with appropriately.

MDBA Staff

All MDBA staff and contractors have a responsibility to acknowledge and respond to a dispute in a timely fashion. The Legal Section can provide guidance on appropriate measures of recording disputes.

Corporate and Business Services Division

The Corporate and Business Services Division, through the Legal Section and the Complaints Officer where appropriate, will provide support and guidance on dispute management.

The Corporate and Business Services Division will also report to the Executive on a quarterly basis. The report will cover statistics, trends and any systemic issues arising from disputes within or involving Divisions.

8. How will the Plan be reviewed?It is envisaged the Plan will be reviewed on an annual basis, with results from this review being the basis for revision of all aspects of the Plan. The results will also provide the MDBA with opportunities to identify specific areas within our agency where disputes are the most common, and assist with the analysis of existing mechanisms and the formulation of proactive strategies for addressing recurring issues, including the prevention of disputes.

9. What is the regulatory framework of this Plan?The following legislation and resources are applicable to disputes covered by this Plan and may potentially provide further guidance to enable the dispute to be resolved:

Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct, which provide ethical and professional standards that Australian Public Servants must follow;

Legal Services Directions 2005 (Cth), which place obligations on the Commonwealth to act as a model litigant;

Civil Dispute Resolution Act 2011 (Cth), which encourages people to take ‘genuine steps’ before commencing certain proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia;

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth) and Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (Cth), which provide a system of governance and accountability for public resources.

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Basin Plan 2012 (Cth)

Water Act 2007 (Cth)

Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the MDBA’s APP Privacy Policy

Public Interest Disclosure Act 2011 (Cth)

Commonwealth Comcover Scheme, which ensures better risk management in the Australian Government;

Administrative Review Council’s Guides to Best Practice in Decision Making on Lawfulness, Natural Justice, Reasons and Accountability;

‘NADRAC – Your Guide to Dispute Resolution’, a resource to help ordinary Australians understand Alternative Dispute Resolution in a comprehensive form.

Disputes Arising from Court ProceedingsDisputes that have resulted in the commencement of Court proceedings will be managed in accordance with the Legal Services Directions 2005 (Cth), and the ‘Litigation Involving the Commonwealth’ guidelines which apply to all Australian Government agencies.

10. Awareness and PromotionThe MDBA will be proactive in promoting and increasing awareness of the Plan both within the MDBA and to external parties.

All members of staff are required to understand their roles and responsibilities and the Executive will be responsible for ensuring the objectives of the dispute management plan are achieved.

Rhondda DicksonChief ExecutiveMurray-Darling Basin Authority January 2015

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