Elder Mediation Training — Member Offer
Elder Mediation: a new AMDRAS specialisation, and a Member offer to get there faster
Elder Mediation is now an official AMDRAS specialisation — and Mi Members have an opportunity to get started on it now, with a $100 discount on the skills-training component of an established, well-regarded training program.
Elder mediation supports older people and their families through difficult conversations — care arrangements, end-of-life decisions, capacity issues, estate planning, and preventing or addressing elder abuse. As Australia's population ages, demand for accredited elder mediators is growing quickly.
What is Elder Mediation?
Elder mediation is a specialised, person-centred approach to decision-making with and for older adults. It calls on mediators to understand ageing and the ageing process, age-related law and policy, and the effects of ageism — and to help families and others navigate care arrangements, end-of-life decisions, intergenerational differences, estate planning, capacity issues, supported decision-making, and allegations or prevention of elder abuse.
As of August 2025, the AMDRAS Board has recognised Elder Mediation as an official specialist discipline within the national accreditation framework.
Why train now
Professor Dale Bagshaw — founder and Chair of the Elder Mediation Australasian Network (EMAN), and Australia's most experienced elder mediation trainer — is running her well-established 40-hour 'Elder Mediation: Essential Knowledge, Values and Skills' program again this year, and has offered Mi Members a $100 discount on Part 2 if accredited mediators apply now.
- Part 1 — 28 hours, self-paced online via Teachable. Complete in your own time.
- Part 2 — 12 hours of live, supervised skills training (4 × 3-hour sessions) via Zoom with Dale Bagshaw, running October/November 2026.
- Together, Parts 1 and 2 provide 40 hours toward Elder Mediation International Network (EMIN) Elder Mediator Certification and the AMDRAS Elder Mediation Specialisation.
Dale needs a minimum number of people confirmed for the Part 2 skills-training group, so there's enough for meaningful role-plays, usually around 8 people and that group then continues to meet and support each other through the EMIN certification process afterwards. If enough interest comes in, Dale can run a second skills-training group.
The Member offer
- Normal fees: $1,200 for Part 1 + $600 for Part 2 = $1,800 total.
- Member offer: $1,200 for Part 1 + $500 for Part 2 = $1,700 total. (save $100) — apply now to lock in this price.
Am I eligible?
The training itself suits mediators and FDR practitioners with prior mediation training and experience, or the equivalent — Dale accepts applications from both.
But to go on and apply for the AMDRAS Elder Mediation Specialisation, you need to be listed on the AMDRAS National Register as an Accredited, Advanced or Leading Mediator — FDR practitioner registration on its own doesn't qualify. If you're an FDR practitioner who hasn't yet gained AMDRAS Mediator accreditation, the AMDRAS Alternative Pathway for FDR Practitioners may let you get there without completing the full Certificate of Training.
You'll also need professional indemnity insurance covering elder mediation, and active membership of both the Elder Mediation Australasian Network (EMAN) and Elder Mediation International Network (EMIN) — EMAN membership is free.
The AMDRAS Elder Mediation Specialisation pathway, in brief
- Be an AMDRAS Accredited, Advanced or Leading Mediator — FDR practitioner registration alone isn't enough; see the Alternative Pathway link above if this applies to you.
- Hold professional indemnity insurance covering Elder Mediation.
- Join both EMAN and EMIN.
- Complete 30+ hours of elder mediation training with an EMIN-approved trainer — this course provides 40, so it covers that requirement with room to spare.
- Complete the additional EMIN certification requirements at Cert.EM or Cert.EM (Advanced) level.
- Apply through Mi as your Recognised Accreditation Provider (RAP), providing evidence of your EMIN certification, PI insurance, and EMAN/EMIN membership.
Full detail on eligibility, renewal (20 practice hours + 16 CPD hours every two years), postnominals and the application process is in the AMDRAS Elder Mediation Specialisation information sheet, downloadable below.
How to apply
Places are arranged directly with Dale Bagshaw, not through Mi. If you're interested:
- Email Dale directly at dale.bagshaw@adelaide.edu.au with a copy of your CV and contact details, and mention the Mi Member offer.
- Dale will send you the enrolment link for Part 1 once you're accepted.
Questions about the AMDRAS Elder Mediation Specialisation pathway itself can also go to Joanne, or to EMAN Board Chair Professor Dale Bagshaw (Dale.Bagshaw@unisa.edu.au) or EMAN Board Secretary Ms Rhonda Whitfield (rhonda@churchillwood.com.au).
About your trainer
Professor Dale Bagshaw (Dip Soc Stud, M Soc Admin, PhD, Cert.EM Advanced) is an adjunct Professor at Adelaide University, founder and Chair of EMAN, Chair of Resolution Institute's Elder Mediation Sub-Committee, and a Board member of EMIN and its Certification Committee. Since the 1980s she has trained hundreds of mediators across Australia and 11 other countries, and has run elder mediation training across every Australian state and New Zealand since 2015.
Downloads and useful links
Copyright © 2026 Mediation Institute