Restorative Stories

The process is coordinated by a ‘convenor’ or a pair of convenors for complex and serious matters, who prepares for RJ and helps everyone talk to one another.

Three stages are involved:

(a) What happened? The offender talks about what, how and why they did what they did and how they think others were affected.

(b) How were people affected? Starting with the victim, the convenor asks everyone what they thought and felt when the offence happened and the impact on them...Read more

This Echidna Story comes from a training I ran in Alice Springs some years ago. It is a powerful example of what matters ‘restorative speaking’ - Terry O'Connell

I recently attended the restorative practice training as part of my role as a manager involved with young offenders/youth at risk of offending and their families. My intention was to build skills and facilitate good outcomes in service delivery however the training touched my personal life in ways I was not prepared for....Read more

I first was introduced to the concept of conferencing in workplaces in 1999 but it was in 2001 when I was invited to participate in one. Eighteen months after a workplace restructure, we were still living with conflict amongst a senior group of executives and tension existed with their staff. A series of intake interviews with all direct and subordinate staff was crucial in preparing us for the group conference. It was essential to get the right people in the room, not just those impacted...Read more

Terry O’Connell first introduced me to Restorative Justice in 1989. It immediately resonated with me because it reaffirmed everything I knew was effective in my role as a Detective working with victims, witnesses and offenders.

It reaffirmed the importance of people being able to tell their story, more than just what happened but how it impacted on them. I had learned from some wonderful mentors the importance of being able to relate to people and treating everyone, including...Read more

Greetings from the Sunshine Coast in sunny Queensland.

When I think about my journey in the restorative justice world, I’m always reminded that when I stumbled into the landscape, everything I had done professionally before seemed like preparation for the Big One! My work in the education, first as a biology teacher, then a school counsellor had taken me into conflict resolution territory, to Critical Incident Response systems and into whole of school systems – particularly in...Read more