A confidential mediation communication is any statement, admission, document, or other communication made during or in connection with a mediation session that is protected from disclosure in later proceedings under Arizona Rule of Family Law Procedure 40.

Rule 408 makes mediation memos inadmissible at trial and protects what is said in mediation from being used against either party. This protection is what makes mediation a safe space for candid negotiation.

The protection has specific exceptions. Agreements reached in mediation are not confidential, they are intended to be binding and enforceable if they are signed and written. Information that would otherwise be discoverable does not become protected simply because it was discussed in mediation.