Our Experience

This page gives general information about the history, work and clients of Trillium and its principals.

Frank Handy and his colleagues established the Trillium Group in 1998, while he was an owner of the Stitt Feld Handy Group, one of Canada’s leading ADR practise and training organisations.   Frank and his colleagues first came to Australia from Canada to conduct a number of public workshops in joint venture with the Melbourne University Faculty of Law; this relationship had been facilitated through contacts between Michael Tilbury and Jeff Berryman, then professors at Melbourne and the University of Windsor in Canada, respectively. The ADR and Mediation Training program was one of the first of its kind in Australia, and fed into the growing interest in mediation and ADR in Australia.  At this time, the Trillium Group was centred in Melbourne, but soon was conducting work in a number of other Australian centres, including Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.  In addition to public training programs, Trillium Group began to conduct training and consulting programs for private and public organisations.

Either with Stitt Feld Handy or the Trillium Group, the Trillium Group has conducted training across Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, the Caribbean, and in Africa and Asia.  

The Trillium Group has been responsible for consulting and delivering programs on conflict management and related topics for such Australian entities as:

• Australia Post
• QANTAS
• Delta Electricity
• BBC Australia
• Cambridge Integrated Services
• Elton Consulting
• Gilbert & Tobin
• Deakin University
• AGSM
• Ambulance Victoria

Outside of Australia, private sector clients have included such entities as

• Mars, Inc.
• BDO Accountants (US and Canada)
• Ethiopian Mediation and Arbitration Centre
• General Dynamics
• CapGemini (Ontario)
• 4 Pump Court (UK Law firm)

In addition, we have completed programs for a number of government agencies and departments or government-controlled entities in various countries, including

• Australian National Native Title Tribunal
• Canada Pension Plan-Disability Programs
• Department of Justice, Canada
• Queensland Water Commission
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Sydney Harbour Federation Trust
• Ontario Hydro (now HydroOne)
• Ministry of Correctional Services
• Human Rights Commissions in a number of jurisdictions
• Workplace Safety and insurance agencies in a number of jurisdictions
• Agriculture, Tax, Defence, Environment, or equivalent agencies in a number of jurisdictions
• A variety of Municipal Councils and their officials
• Officers for a variety of administrative boards and tribunals

Outside of the consulting and training work, Frank is accredited to the National Standard in Australia, and also holds the Chartered Mediator Designation in Ontario, Canada. Frank has been a tribunal member for the Employment Insurance Board, and was a Vice-Chair of the Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal and the Board of Negotiation.  Most of the mediation and arbitration work is conducted on a confidential basis.  Frank’s experience in this area goes back many years, as he was a practising litigator prior to moving to mediation.