Triage Call With a Mediator: What the $290 Call Covers, Who It Suits and When the Free AI Concierge Is Enough

A triage call with a mediator is a 45-minute conversation with an accredited mediator from our panel, priced at $290 ex GST. You talk the matter through with a person, then receive a short email of next-step recommendations. There is no obligation and no discount off later mediation. The free AI Concierge is the other route.

If you run a business with no HR team, or you have just been invited to mediation, you probably know something is wrong. What you may not know is that neutral help can simply be booked, and that you do not need to have the problem worked out first.

This guide explains both triage routes, what each one covers, who suits which, what triage is not, and what usually comes next. It is a decision guide, not a price page. For the full mediation fee breakdown, see our article How Much Does Workplace Mediation Cost in Australia.

Key Takeaways

• Every Conflict Services matter starts with triage, so the process fits the problem rather than whoever happens to be free.
• The free AI Concierge takes about ten minutes, by voice or online chat, and our team replies within two business days.
• The $290 ex GST call is 45 minutes with an accredited mediator from our panel, followed by a short email of next-step recommendations.
• Neither route is legal advice, mediation itself or a commitment. There is no obligation and no discount off a later mediation.
• Straightforward matters suit the Concierge. Tangled, personal or high-stakes matters, such as a co-owner rift, often suit a conversation with a person first.
• Triage points to one of five paths: a management decision, HR guidance, conflict coaching, mediation or an independent investigation.

The Two Triage Routes at a Glance

What a triage call is and why every matter starts there

Triage is a short, early conversation that works out what kind of problem you have and who should help, before anything is booked. Every Conflict Services matter starts there because the process should fit the problem, not whoever is free. Triage is calm, clear and early, and it commits you to nothing.

Conflict is not a bad word. It is usually a sign that something important needs attention. The trouble is timing. Most workplace conflict starts small, with an issue everyone decides to manage around. By the time it surfaces, people are reacting to the silence, the delay and the sense of unfairness as much as to the original problem.

That is why early matters. Calm, clear and early is usually better than perfect and too late. Safe Work Australia's guidance on psychosocial hazards expects employers to identify and manage risks to people's psychological health at work, and unresolved interpersonal conflict sits within that picture. Waiting rarely makes it cheaper or smaller.

Not every matter needs the same process. Some need a clear management decision. Some need HR guidance. Some need coaching, some mediation, and some an independent investigation. Choosing the right one is often the hardest part. Triage does that sorting, so we can match the matter to the right person on our panel.

Accreditation matters here too. In Australia, the National Mediator Accreditation System sets practice and approval standards that many mediators work to. When we say an accredited mediator, we mean someone who has been through that kind of rigour, not just someone who is good with people.

You have two ways in. One is free and automated. The other is paid and personal.

How the free AI Concierge works

The AI Concierge is a free AI assistant on our booking page. It takes about ten minutes, by voice or online chat. It asks what is happening, who is involved and what you want from the process, and takes notes for our team, who reply within two business days.

What it asks

The questions are plain. What is going on? Who is involved, and how many people? What has already been tried? What would you like to be different? You do not need a polished timeline. Rough notes are enough, and you can talk or type as you would to a colleague.

A few things make the ten minutes more useful:

• Know the names or roles of the people involved.
• Have a rough sense of how long the issue has been running.
• Think about what a good outcome looks like, even loosely.
• Mention anything urgent, such as a complaint that has not yet been acknowledged.

What it does not do

The Concierge never gives advice, never decides anything and never comments on anyone's conduct. It is a note-taker with good questions. You can ask for a human at any time, and nothing about the free route locks you in.

What happens within two business days

Our team reads the notes, matches the right person on the panel and checks for conflicts of interest. We then reply with who that person is, how the matter would run and the fee. Nothing is booked or paid until we have matched you with a practitioner and they have agreed the fee.

If you are ready, you can start free with the AI Concierge. Many people use it late at night, after a hard day, when ringing someone feels like too much. That is a perfectly good reason to choose it.

What the $290 mediator call covers

The $290 ex GST call is 45 minutes with an accredited mediator from our panel. You talk the situation through with a person, ask questions and hear how the matter might be approached. Afterwards you receive a short email of next-step recommendations. It carries no obligation and no discount off a later mediation.

What the 45 minutes is for

The call is yours to use. Most people spend it on four things: explaining what has happened, saying who is affected, describing what they have already tried, and asking what kind of process might fit. A mediator hears a great many versions of this and can usually tell quickly whether a matter is one of conflict, performance, conduct or governance.

That sorting is the real value. Many people arrive convinced they need mediation, or convinced they need an investigation. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes the better step is a clear management decision, or a few hours of HR guidance, or coaching for the leader involved. Talking it through with a person helps you see which.

What you receive afterwards

You get a short email of next-step recommendations. It is written, so you can forward it to a co-owner, a board member or a trusted adviser, and refer back to it when the details blur. It is a recommendation, not a ruling.

What the call does not change

There is no obligation to go further. There is also no discount off a later mediation, and we say that plainly so there are no surprises. If you do go ahead, we match the right person on the panel and check for conflicts of interest. Nothing is booked or paid for the next step until that practitioner has agreed the fee.

If you would rather speak with a person first, you can book the $290 mediator call.

Which triage route suits which situation

Choose the Concierge when the facts are fairly clear and you mainly want the right person matched. Choose the mediator call when the matter is tangled, personal or high stakes and you would rather think aloud with a person first. Neither route is better. They suit different people at different moments.

The examples below are hypothetical. They show how we think about the choice, not outcomes we have delivered.

Imagine a straightforward staff clash

Imagine a 45-person trades and services business. An operations manager and a senior team member have been at odds for months. They still do their jobs, but they have stopped speaking directly, and two people have asked for transfers. There is no suggestion of misconduct. The owner knows the facts, knows who is involved and mainly wants someone sensible to take it from here.

The Concierge fits well. The facts are clear, the owner can describe them in ten minutes, and the main job is matching the right mediator. A mediation, rather than an investigation, is the likely direction, because mediation asks what happens next and nobody is disputing what happened.

Imagine a co-owner rift

Imagine two co-owners of a family-run business with around 30 staff. They disagree about reinvesting profits versus drawing them out. Over time the disagreement has become avoided meetings, decisions made by email and staff being asked to pick sides. Neither wants a legal process yet.

Here the mediator call often suits better. A rift between co-owners is rarely just about the numbers. It carries history, loyalty and worry about the family and the staff. Many people in that position want to talk it through with someone who has seen it before, and to ask whether mediation is even the right first step. A person on the line can hear tone and hesitation that a form cannot.

Before either route, the free partner dispute checklist is a useful way to get your own thoughts in order. Our article Business Partners Disagree About Staff covers a common trigger.

Imagine a complaint you are not sure how to categorise

Imagine the general manager of a 90-person business with no HR function. A complaint about a team leader's behaviour arrives, and the manager is unsure whether it is a performance issue, a conflict or a formal conduct matter. Two days have passed with no reply to the person who raised it.

Either route can work, and speed matters more than the choice. Our first 48 hours guide helps with the immediate steps, such as acknowledging the concern in writing. The Concierge is quick. The mediator call suits a manager who is worried about handling it badly and wants to think it through with someone. The key question is whether the matter needs a forward-looking conversation or a fact-finding process. More on that below.

If you have been invited to mediation

Some readers are employees or managers who have received an invitation and are not sure what it means. Mediation is voluntary and confidential. The mediator does not decide who is right. Each person is prepared separately before any joint session, and people agree what happens next. A short outcome note records it.

You do not need to arrange triage yourself. But if the invitation worries you, it is reasonable to ask questions first. Our guides How to Prepare for Mediation With Your Manager and Team Mediation at Work: What to Expect in the Room go into the detail.

What triage is not

Triage is not legal advice, not mediation and not a commitment. Nobody decides who is right, nobody comments on anyone's conduct and no mediation is booked. It is an orientation step. Conflict Services is not a law firm, so questions about shares, agreements, dismissal or entitlements belong with a lawyer.

It helps to be specific about the edges.

• Not mediation. Mediation involves preparation with each person and a facilitated session. Triage is one person (or one side) describing the situation.
• Not an investigation. Nobody is interviewed, no findings are made and nothing is established as fact. Early on, we talk about concerns or complaints, not conclusions.
• Not a verdict on the people involved. The Concierge never comments on conduct, and the mediator on the call is not taking a side.
• Not a lock-in. There are no retainers and no lock-in contracts. You can read the recommendations and do nothing with them.
• Not a discount scheme. The $290 does not come off a later mediation.

This clarity is deliberate. People in conflict are often wary of being steered, judged or sold to. A first step that is honest about its limits is easier to take.

What comes next after triage

After triage, the outcome is usually one of five: a management decision, HR guidance, conflict coaching, mediation or an independent investigation. Not every matter needs the same process. Triage points you to the one that fits, and sometimes to a sequence of two.

We call this choosing the right process. Here is how the five options usually differ.

A management decision

Sometimes the matter does not need a facilitated process at all. A role is unclear, a rule needs setting or a decision has been avoided. If the person with authority can simply decide, and the people affected will accept it, that may be the cleanest path. Triage can confirm that.

HR guidance

For owners and general managers with no HR team, HR guidance by the hour is often what is missing. It is $290 ex GST an hour, with no retainer. A few hours can clarify how to acknowledge a complaint, how to handle a performance conversation or whether a policy needs review.

Conflict coaching

When the leader is the one who wants to change how they handle conflict, coaching can fit. Our conflict coaching for leaders is $1,290 ex GST for four one-hour sessions and a plan. It is quoted here for context only. It suits someone who wants to prepare for a hard conversation, not someone hoping the coach will fix another person.

Mediation

When people need to work out how to move forward together, mediation is usually the fit. A half-day session is $2,900 ex GST for a 3.5-hour session for two participants, again for context only. Our cost article has the full breakdown, including longer sessions and extra participants. Many matters involve three, four or a whole team, and the process can be scaled to suit.

Here is what happens, in order:

1. Free triage. The Concierge or a mediator call, then our reply on who is matched and how it would run.
2. Invitations. Each person is invited. Mediation is voluntary, so each person chooses.
3. Separate preparation. Each person talks privately with the mediator first, so nobody walks in cold.
4. The session. A facilitated conversation, by video anywhere in Australia with separate private rooms, or in person on request.
5. Outcome note. A short note records what people agreed.

Independent investigation

Some matters need facts established. That is where an independent workplace investigation fits. The way we put it: mediation asks what happens next; an investigation asks what happened. Mediation is voluntary, confidential and forward-looking, and people own the outcome. An investigation establishes facts, makes findings and can lead to action.

Investigations are quoted after scoping. We scope the matter first, then give an estimate, and we revisit it with you if the matter changes. Fairness and independence come first. If an investigation happens, a different panel member would mediate afterwards, and we will not mediate a matter we have advised on.

For a mixed picture, triage might suggest a sequence, such as HR guidance now to acknowledge a complaint properly, then scoping, then mediation later if people still need to work together. For business partner matters, the sequence might start with separate preparation conversations. The free Conflict Check, a two-minute tool, is a useful gut check at any stage.

Why the owner is the wrong person to triage their own dispute

Owners often try to sort the problem out themselves first, and that is understandable. It is also where many matters stall. You can't be neutral about your own people, and they know it. The person who manages the people, has advised one side or will decide the outcome is not neutral, however fair they try to be.

This is the part we think most advice gets wrong. The common line is that a good manager can sort out any dispute between their own staff. In our experience of how these matters unfold, the manager's skill is rarely the issue. The structure is. Staff watch what the boss says to each person, who they have coffee with and whose side the decision seems to favour. Even a scrupulously fair owner is read through that lens.

That is why triage matters beyond sorting. It puts the first conversation with someone on nobody's side. Whether it is a mediator on the line or an assistant taking careful notes for a team that will check conflicts of interest, the point is the same: start in the middle.

There is a second cost that rarely shows up on a quote. Consider a manager who spends weeks smoothing over friction, rehearsing what to say, avoiding the topic in meetings and hoping it fades. Meanwhile the people involved read that silence as a message. Delay is rarely neutral. By the time conflict surfaces, people are reacting to the silence and the sense of unfairness as much as to the original problem.

So our position is simple. The question that matters most is not "Do I need mediation?" It is "What kind of problem is this?" Getting that answered by someone with no stake is worth more than getting the answer perfect. Calm, clear and early.

When you are ready, start free with the AI Concierge, or book the $290 mediator call.

References

• Safe Work Australia, Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work
• Mediator Standards Board, National Mediator Accreditation System
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Best practice guides