Right now, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is updating OSCA — the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia. It’s the system that officially defines and groups every occupation in the country, and it matters more than it sounds: it shapes how government, researchers and industry understand and report on professions like ours.
The public consultation on the OSCA 2027 update closes Friday 18 September 2026, 11:59pm AEST. Once it closes, the update is locked in for publication in March 2027 — and the next chance to review it isn’t until 2029.
Why this matters for mediators and FDR practitioners
At the moment, both Mediator and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner sit inside the “Judicial and Other Legal Professionals” group. Mediation isn’t a legal profession, and being classified as one doesn’t reflect what we actually do or who we serve.
Mi made a submission to this consultation asking ABS to:
- move Mediator and FDR Practitioner out of the Judicial and Other Legal Professionals group
- consider a stand-alone occupation group for Dispute Resolution Practitioners
- separately identify Conciliator as its own occupation
- look at a proper skill-level framework for the sector
What ABS has said so far
We’ve already heard back from ABS on part of our submission, and there’s genuine progress to report — alongside some honest limits.
The win: ABS has confirmed they’re considering favourably our request to move Mediator and FDR Practitioner out of the Judicial and Other Legal Professionals group.
No luck with our efforts to get recognition for dispute resolution as a stand alone group. We’re too exclusive and fall below the 5,000 – 30,000 people threashold needed for a stand-alone group of our own, so the proposal is to move into “Other Miscellaneous Professionals 2999”.
Still having the ABS respond this positively to moving us out of the legal professionals category is a real step forward.
Not this round: Conciliator won’t get its own separate listing. The numbers currently recorded under that title fall short of the 300-person minimum ABS needs to list an occupation separately, so it stays listed as a title under Judicial and Other Legal Professionals 281299.
Longer term: ABS has confirmed skill-level frameworks are not being looked at until after 2030.
ABS has also asked Mi for contacts at the AMDRAS Board and the Attorney-General’s Department to follow up further — a good sign they’re taking the profession’s case seriously.
Why your feedback still counts
None of this is locked in yet. The population thresholds ABS is working to are partly a numbers problem and the more of the profession that engages directly with this consultation, the stronger the case for proper recognition, now and in future updates.
Even a short, incomplete submission helps, as long as it’s in before the deadline.
How to have your say
- Submit feedback via the ABS Consultation Hub
- Use the feedback guide if you want a steer on how to respond
- The questionnaire is where you actually lodge feedback on occupation-level changes
- Browse the draft classification if you want to see how mediation-related roles currently sit
- Read more on About OSCA and the OSCA 2027 update
Deadline: Friday 18 September 2026, 11:59pm AEST.
If you’ve got questions about the submission or want to know more before you respond, get in touch — we’re happy to talk through it.
— Joanne Law, Director, Mediation Institute
