- The Express Triage process successfully resolved appeals that would have otherwise been sent directly to a full hearing.
- ADR selection was more precise resulting in a 25% increase in the resolution rate.
- The Express Triage process resulted in overall longer processing and cycle times for an appeal to be streamed.
- Early Resolution Officers (ERO) and the parties to the appeal both noted that the express triage process added little value for several types of cases, particularly relative to the time and effort required to hold the conference.
- For appeals streamed to a full hearing at an Express Triage conference, an agreed statement was only accepted by the parties in a few number of cases. Where a statement was prepared, it remains inconclusive whether it benefited the full hearing.
Conclusion
Given the findings from this pilot, the IAD has decided not to continue with Express Triage in its current form. Although there were a number of positive outcomes, the process demands too much time and effort from both the IAD and the parties to the appeal for it to be worthwhile endeavour in any comprehensive way.
Nevertheless, the IAD recognizes the value demonstrated by the pilot in canvassing the parties for additional information before sending an appeal to a full hearing or ADR conference and has consequently introduced number of changes in 2017 to the early informal resolution program that give EROs more flexibility in how they gather information from the parties.