Restorative Justice at the Ministry
An overview of the Role of the Ministry in administering Restorative justice services
The Ministry of Justice administers funding for the delivery of Restorative justice in the pre-sentence environment, and is the key government agency with oversight of restorative justice in criminal cases in New Zealand. Currently, the Ministry manages contracts for the delivery of restorative justice services in 35 courts. The Ministry funds cases at the police diversion level, and more serious cases before the court where a guilty plea has been made.
The Restorative Justice Team
The Restorative Justice Team is responsible for delivery of the Ministry’s restorative justice functions. This includes providing policy advice to the Minister of Justice on adult restorative justice, managing the programme of funding and contracts with a range of restorative justice providers across the country and developing and implementing operational policy and processes.
Current key pieces of policy work include contributing to the Minister's Review of Victims' Rights, and the interagency Addressing the Drivers of Crime initiative, with a particular view to how restorative justice processes and/or approaches may contribute to these projects.
In addition, the team is currently working on developing services following an increase of $2million in funding over this and the next two financial years. This includes supporting current providers to deliver greater volumes of services and considering opportunities for expanding the areas in which restorative justice is currently delivered and the approaches to delivering restorative justice services.
Contact:
Restorative Justice Manager
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 180
Wellington
Tel: +64 4 918 8800
