Who we are

Open Circle is a restorative justice service within the Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ) at RMIT University. We were established in October 2019 following a successful pilot restorative justice program and a commitment to make restorative justice processes more accessible to people impacted by crime or other harms.

Open Circle is located in Melbourne, and offers restorative justice processes throughout Victoria. We work with adults who have been affected by a wide variety of crimes and other incidents of harm. Additionally, we undertake research, policy and program design work in the area of restorative justice and restorative practice.

Open Circle consists of a highly skilled team of restorative justice practitioners and justice system experts who work closely with their colleagues at RMIT’s Centre for Innovative Justice. Learn more about the Open Circle team here.

How We Work

Open Circle puts people at the centre of our processes. We believe in people’s capacity to draw on their own resilience, wisdom and strength when they are faced with unwelcome and unexpected life circumstances. Open Circle’s restorative processes aim to respond to harm in ways that don’t make things worse. Open Circle recognises that harm occurs within a social and structural context. By bringing people together, Open Circle’s restorative processes can enable people to address the context of harm and work towards preventing future harm.

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Email: open.circle@rmit.edu.au

Twitter: @OpenCircleRJ