Hearing the voices of Victorian conferencing practitioners – views on neutrality

Conferencing is a restorative justice process that is used in the criminal justice system in Australia to deal with a variety of offences. In this article, the authors analyse research into the understandings of conferencing practitioners regarding the issue of the neutrality of the third party in facilitating the process. The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology with a small group of practitioners in Victoria. In the semi-structured interviews the practitioners described and discussed their understandings of the concept of neutrality in conferencing and their thoughts regarding practice issues. The analysis of the study results indicates a need for further research in this area.