The Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA), founded in 1985, is an independent and not-for-profit organization aimed to promote and facilitate the efficient resolution of commercial disputes throughout Australia by alternative solutions like arbitration and mediation.

ACICA is also a standard certifier as the first ADR provider in Australia. The ACICA certification has been widely recognized by the commercial, governmental and legal communities.

ACICA, upon its establishment, has helped solve thousands of disputes and secure the settlement of contractual disputes between and among companies and governments.

The center was established in 1986 by Terence William "Terry" Sheahan, the then New South Wales Attorney-General, who was also the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for the State from 1974 to 1988.

ACICA has established a non-confrontational approach to dispute resolution in Australia. These programs have quickly become a way for governments to resolve disputes and become part of the overall business.

ACICA have been in communication with many other groups in terms of ADR. In 2003, we established a Memorandum of Understanding with ACICA to support and promote international arbitration, focusing on domestic and international disputes. This represents a unique opportunity to establish a national-level international arbitration and mediation agency.

Since 2003, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) has also undertaken administrative functions. Founded in 1915, CIArb has established its branch office in London in 1995, being designed to “promote and facilitate the handling of disputes through arbitration” with nearly 11,000 members in more than 100 countries.

ACICA used to be a designated agency to handle various industry disputes, including the Credit Commissioner Service (formerly the Mortgage Industry Specialist Program) and the Credit Union Dispute Resolution Center.