Restorative Justice Service

Restorative justice is a process that gives people who have caused harm and those who been harmed a chance to come together in conversation.

Restorative justice aims to:

• give people who are harmed by crime a voice, and empower them in the resolution process
• repair relationships damaged by crime
• make it clear that harmful behaviour is not okay
• encourage positive individual change and responsibility taking
• identify outcomes which are forward looking and repair harm
• prevent reoffending.

About the Restorative Justice Service

The ACT Government runs a free restorative justice service for people who have been harmed by offences in the ACT.

This includes minor and serious offences such as:

• property damage
• theft
• alcohol and drug related incidents
• assault
• domestic and family violence
• sexual offences.

Who can access the service

You may be able to access restorative justice services if you are:

• harmed by an offence in the ACT, including if you have been impacted indirectly, for example as a family member
• a person who has caused harm through an offence in the ACT.

Participation in restorative justice is always voluntary.

Restorative justice is different for every situation but usually involves:

• the person responsible and people who care about them, like your family and friends
• the person harmed and people who care about them
• other people who were involved in the offence, like the police, a witness or first responder
• professional workers who can offer further emotional and psychological support.

The decision to participate in restorative justice is entirely up to the people involved. For restorative justice to work, the people involved need to be willing and open participants.

How to access the service

There are 2 ways to access restorative justice services, you can either

• contact us to ask for support from the service
• get a referral to the service.

Ask for support

If you are a person harmed by an offence, you can contact us to see if restorative justice is right for you. If you prefer, you can talk to Victim Support ACT and ask them for a referral to the Restorative Justice Service.

If you have caused harm and wish to make amends through restorative justice, you can ask the person managing your case for a referral to the Restorative Justice Service.

Get referred

If you are the person responsible for an offence, and you agree, you can be referred to the Restorative Justice Service.

You may be referred to restorative justice:

• instead of going to court
• as well as going to court
• after you have been sentenced.

Only certain entities can refer you to the Restorative Justice Service at different stages of your matter. Once referred, your matter may be placed on a waitlist. A staff member will contact you to advise the wait time

For more information on how to be referred please contact us.

How the service works

Assessment

When we receive a request or a referral, we'll speak with the people harmed and the people responsible to make sure:

• everyone understands how restorative justice works
• everyone wants to participate in restorative justice
• everyone is safe and feels safe
• a positive outcome is likely.

Conference

A restorative justice conference involves a conversation between the people involved in an offence. It is a safe space to talk about why an offence occurred, how it affected people and what can be done to make things better.

• The person responsible hears how the offence impacted others.
• The person harmed gets to ask questions and describe what the person responsible can do to make things better.
• The person responsible is given opportunity to show remorse and commit to making amends.
• The process enables people to move forward and put the offence behind them.

An experienced convenor will work closely with the people harmed and the people responsible to design a restorative justice conference.

Depending on the needs of the person harmed, the conference can happen either:

• face-to-face (in-person with each other and the convenor)
• indirectly (by letters, messages, video links or through information relayed by the convenor).

During the conference

At a face-to-face conference, everyone meets at a place and time they are comfortable with. Conferences usually take about one or 2 hours with everyone seated in a circle to share information.

An experienced convenor will facilitate a conversation about:

• what happened
• how were people affected
• what can be done to make things better.

Each participant will be given a chance to talk about their experience of the offence from their point of view. In this way, a full story about the offence is shared.

The person harmed can decide if and how the person responsible can make amends.

The person responsible is given opportunity to show remorse and commit to make amends.

After a conference the people involved may want to put together an agreement outlining what the person responsible will do to address the harm they have caused.

Agreement

An agreement is not compulsory but if everyone wants to go ahead with an agreement, the convenor will help to put it together and report on its progress.

An agreement must:

• be fair, measurable and achievable
• not be unlawful, humiliating, cause distress to the restorative justice participants or anyone else
• only be up to 6 months in duration
• be in writing and signed by person responsible and the person harmed.

Agreements for some matters will include a cooling off period.

What is in an agreement

An agreement captures things the person who has caused harm will do to help repair some or all of the harm caused by the offence.

This could include:

• a plan to address the offending behaviour
• writing letters of explanation and apology
• keeping a progress report about the person's journey to a more responsible life
• paying money for losses or costs incurred
• doing unpaid work for the person harmed, their charity of choice or the general community
• attending counselling for emotional management
• looking for employment or doing work experience
• participating in relevant community programs or activities, self-development or education courses
• talking to a trusted person/mentor.

First Nations guidance partners

If you are an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person participating in the restorative justice service, you can choose

• to work with a First Nations guidance partner, if available
• to have a convenor who is also Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

A First Nations guidance partner is a support person who has had culturally appropriate training and will help you throughout the process.

Feedback and complaints

If you're unhappy with our service, conduct or believe we have not complied with the law, you can complain to us or give us feedback. We welcome your complaint or feedback. It helps us to fix problems and improve our service.

If you can, and are comfortable doing so, you should raise your complaint with your restorative justice convenor. If you don’t feel comfortable, or can’t get your issue resolved by talking to us, you can make a complaint.

Make a complaint

If you are a victim

In the ACT, there is a Charter of Rights for Victims of Crime to protect and promote your rights in the criminal justice system.

Read more about your rights as a victim including how to complain if you think we haven’t upheld your rights.

If you are a person responsible

Our service charter outlines what you can expect from us. If we don’t meet these expectations, you can make a complaint to the directorate.

Find out how to complain to the Justice and Community Safety directorate.

Contact us