Practice Networks
AARJ is supporting reflective practice networks /alliances around the country.
We anticipate that there will eventually be multiple regional alliances in each state and territory.
At this time, however, practitioners in each jurisdiction are nominating an individual member (or single organisation) to represent the whole jurisdiction on the AARJ Committee.
We currently have representatives from Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Queensland, and the Northern Territory, and are negotiating arrangements with the remaining jurisdictions.
Having a representative of each jurisdiction on the AARJ Committee makes it easier to plan for activities that support:
- regional communities of practice –
involving colleagues who are doing restorative work in different applications within the one region, and also to support:
- professional communities of practice –
involving colleagues who are doing restorative work in the one profession across all states and territories. Professional communities of practice are emerging among colleagues applying restorative practices in sectors including health, tertiary education, business services, and local government.
We anticipate that these arrangements will:
- support the continuing development of facilitator skills and guidelines for effective program administration;
- help develop a system of accreditation to safeguard the integrity of this work.
Please note: A Melbourne Community of Practice (CoP) has now been established, as of mid-2021, and has recently been renamed the Restorative Facilitator Skills Practice Group.
Members of the Association who are interested to reflect on individual cases and on general approaches to practice, and keen to practise their restorative facilitation skills with supportive colleagues, should contact the CoP organiser.
For professional educators: the site Restorative Practice in Victorian Schools has also recently been created to facilitate and promote collaboration and sharing of ideas, experiences and expertise.
Accredited Convenors
AARJ supports the development of a national system of accreditation for practitioners working in restorative justice and restorative practice. The Association is keen to expand the community of practitioners who are highly competent, and confident, and continuing to learn together.
For this reason, the Association is promoting a system built on local peer support and reflective practice, with some central oversight. The arrangement supports on-the-job learning and practice consistency, but also allows for the evolution of practice, and for lessons learned in one program to be transferred to other programs.
AARJ uses the word ‘convenor’ because it is the most widely applied generic term for a practitioner who facilitates a group conference or similar structured, restorative group meeting. We note that this usage is not entirely consistent across all states and territories, nor across all restorative justice and restorative practice programs.
We have found it helpful to use the same generic term ‘convenor’ for:
(i) practitioners working in both restorative justice and restorative practices; &
(ii) practitioners working within formal programs (whether or not the programs are legislated ) practitioners working as private consultants.
AARJ has provided accreditation for convenors working in each of these areas.
For a list of accredited convenors, with their contact details, see the tab above.
Please note, AARJ requires that convenors be covered by appropriate indemnity and liability insurance.
AARJ cannot accept liability for the conduct of convenors.
National Redress Scheme (NRS)
Panel of Convenors
The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (OCO) established a Restorative Engagement program in 2016, and selected a panel of facilitators to prepare and convene Restorative Engagement Conferences within that program.
In anticipation of a parallel need for facilitators in the National Redress Scheme (NRS), the OCO selected more than 60 facilitators for its Restorative Engagement program panel.
These same facilitators are qualified to facilitate Direct Personal Response (DPR) meetings in the context of the National Redress Scheme.
For names and contact details of DPR facilitators in each state and territory, see the tab at the top of this page.