Mark Luciani-Crout, manager of the Grampians Region DSCV, said the Centre provides free advice to callers on how to resolve disputes, with the top two disputes for the year being fence disputes and the behaviour of adults, such as bullying and intruding on another's property uninvited.

"DSCV received over 650 calls in total over the last financial year from people in Ararat, Ballarat, and Horsham, among other shires, who were seeking advice and assistance around a conflict.

"This number grew from 207 the previous year, an increase of more than 300 per cent since the regionalisation of DSCV services in Horsham and Ballarat," Mr Luciani-Crout said.

"Some of the calls resulted in free mediation sessions that aim to make resolution cheaper, fairer and simpler than costly court action. At these mediations over 88 per cent are able to reach agreement."

DSCV assisted 2000 disputing parties across the state through a series of phone calls, letters, negotiation or mediation to help them come to an agreement.

"The DSCV was established in the Grampians Region in April 2010 within the Department of Justice. We have DSCV staff visiting all the major courts and providing assistance to help parties resolve disputes instead of taking further court action," Mr Luciani-Crout said.

"The Centre has focused on providing a more localised service this year, delivering local solutions based on local knowledge in response to local needs."

Mr Luciani-Crout said the category with the highest number of calls in 2010/11 was in relation to behaviour of adults followed by fence disputes, property, trees and financial debt disputes.

"Often the issues around adult behaviours are intertwined with, or result from, other neighbourhood disputes such as a fence dispute," he said.