The Community Justice Centres (Pilot Project) Act of 1980 established three experimental community justice centers in New South Wales. The centers use the technique of mediation to deal with the underlying tensions and conflicts in ongoing relationships. Mediation provides for the intervention of a third party (the mediator), by consent of both parties in the dispute, to aid the principals in reaching an agreement satisfactory to both. The law was enacted out of the recognition that the conventional court system is not equipped by its format to deal with disputes growing out of a multifaceted ongoing relationship between the disputing parties. Each center aimed to recruit mediators diverse in age, sex, educational background, and ethnicity. The characteristics sought in mediators are tolerance, verbal expression, warmth, flexibility, objectivity, confidence, and assertiveness. The training course for mediators consists of three 1-hour sessions weekly for 18 weeks. Role playing is used extensively. The centers are apparently being used as alternatives to court processing, and additionally, they are being used to resolve disputes that may never have been brought to court. Legal parameters for the mediation process are designed to protect the rights of the parties in the event of subsequent court action on the issues being considered. A flow chart for the mediation procedure is provided.