Centre for Innovative Justice

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Centre for Innovative Justice

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Centre for Innovative Justice, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne.

The CIJ researches, translates, advocates & applies innovative/alternative ways to improve the justice system, with a particular focus on appropriate/non-adversarial dispute resolution, therapeutic jurisprudence & restorative justice

13/11/2025

As a co-convenor of Smart Justice 4 Young People - a coalition of lawyers, social workers, youth workers, financial counsellors and experts - the Centre for Innovative Justice strongly opposes the Victorian Government’s youth justice announcements yesterday.

These proposed laws will do further harm to Victorian children, their siblings, their parents, and the broader community. While short-term responses may look good on a media release, sector experts know that regressive and punitive responses are doomed to fail and only serve to entrench cycles of offending.

10/11/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Justice and Healing: Restorative and Community Responses to Harm

Last week’s forum brought together an incredible community of practitioners, advocates, and thinkers dedicated to building more connected, compassionate approaches to justice.

We couldn’t have done it without the generous contributions of our inspiring speakers, panellists, and workshop facilitators, and of course, the dedication of our hardworking CIJ and Open Circle teams who made the day possible.

It was a day of deep reflection, rich discussion, and hope for what’s possible when justice and healing come together.

Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-Operative Flat Out Inc

31/10/2025

Today marks a truly historic moment for Victoria, with the passage of the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025 — the first legislation of its kind in Australia, paving the way towards truth, justice and self-determination. This moment is more than legislative: it signals a significant step in recognising the authority, expertise and leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The CIJ recognises that justice is not just about reforming systems, it’s also about justice being shaped by those most affected. The new treaty framework affirms that First Peoples should play a leading role in influencing the laws and policies that impact their lives. We welcome this shift towards self-determination, community-led decision-making and truthful acknowledgment of the past.

Congratulations to the First Peoples’ Assembly, treaty negotiators, community leaders and all those who have stayed committed over many years.

08/10/2025

A few weeks ago, the ABC featured the Amplify program, a vital initiative supporting young people experiencing homelessness and family violence. The CIJ was proud to conduct the program’s evaluation, led by Associate Director Elena Campbell and her team.

In the article, Elena highlighted the importance of designing services that genuinely meet the needs of young people, noting that “we can’t just throw in an existing specialist family violence response at young people … what we need to be doing is designing programmes that are about ways of working with young people.”

The CIJ’s evaluation found that Amplify fills a critical gap in Victoria’s support system for adolescents, offering a blueprint for scaling youth-informed, trauma-aware service responses.

👉 Read the full story on ABC News here:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-22/homeless-kids-domestic-violence-solution-politics/105793902

and find the evaluation here: https://www.mcm.org.au/news/amplify-evaluation-confirms-family-violence-program-is-changing-live

07/10/2025

6 NOVEMBER - SAVE THE DATE!

We are excited to announce Open Circle's one-day forum, Justice and Healing: Restorative and Community Responses to Harm.

When serious harm occurs, we must seek new and creative justice pathways that prioritise healing, community, and social change. This forum invites you to explore community-based responses to harm that centre healing over punishment and retribution.

This forum will take place on 6 November at RMIT Melbourne CBD.

General public tickets will go on sale soon. Spaces are extremely limited, so watch this space.

23/09/2025

In July, the CIJ partnered with Our Watch to develop a two-part webinar series and resources for media when reporting on gender-based violence.

Many have been asking, and it's finally here! If you missed out, the two-part series is now available to watch on the Our Watch website.

Elena Campbell facilitated a panel session for the first part of the series which explored the ways in which victim survivors experience media reporting of criminal justice proceedings related to domestic, family or sexual violence. Elena was then a panel guest in the second part of the series – facilitated by Our Watch and including a journalist and media lawyer – which discussed practical ways in which the media can navigate the difficult terrain of reporting in a trauma-informed way and giving victim survivors a voice, while also adhering to relevant legal restrictions.

Watch them here: https://www.ourwatch.org.au/media-reporting/resources/tips-for-reporting-when-there-are-legal-restrictions

04/09/2025

Recently, the CIJ's Stan Winford and Adam Wilson from Fitzroy Legal Service met with a delegation from the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA). The delegation is part of the JFBA's Working Group on Criminal Defence for Persons with Disabilities and Other Special Needs, who visited Australia to learn more about innovative responses to issues within the justice system.

During the meeting, Stan and Adam spoke about ways to better support people with disability who are in contact with the justice system, and how to provide suitable training and resourcing to legal representatives to ensure their services are accessible and take disability into consideration.

The JFBA hope the findings from their research, including this interview, will help 'inform legislative advocacy, improve practice guidelines, and contribute to ongoing development of interdisciplinary defence and support models in Japan'.

We are extremely honoured to have been able to contribute to this research and hope to see it have a positive impact for those with disability who come into contact with the Japanese justice system.

Vid Description: A camera pans across a meeting room with a long table, four people seated along each side and one person at the head of the table, all dressed in professional attire.

01/09/2025

Meet the CIJ's newest team member

After parting ways with the incredible Jen Black, we have now appointed our new Manager, Innovation and Impact! We are incredibly excited to have Simon on board and for all the insightful contributions he brings to the team.

25/08/2025

Recently, one of our Associate Directors, Stan Winford, spoke with the ABC News through his role as Director at the Sentencing Advisory Council, ahead of the plea hearing for convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson, which commenced this Monday.

During the interview, Stan shed light on the role of victim impact statements in court proceedings and the growing recognition within the justice system of the impacts of crime on those who have been harmed.

He noted that the inclusion of victim impact statements in the Victorian criminal justice system "reflects a growing recognition in recent times about the importance of providing a greater role for victims to participate in criminal trial and sentencing processes".

Read the full article here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-25/erin-patterson-mushroom-murder-trial-plea-hearing/105679582

13/08/2025

Through our fantastic community legal centre partners, Law and Advocacy Centre for Women and Youthlaw, the CIJ supports RMIT students, studying courses such as law and social work, to have life changing placement opportunities.

These experiences can be incredibly formative for these students' careers. For social work students, placements at our partner community legal centres can demonstrate the diverse and varied sectors their degree can open doors to, including the legal sector.

Yutong Dai's recent experience at Youthlaw is an example of what these placements can provide - eye-opening experiences, linking theory to practice, and a taste of the combined legal and social support sectors to inform choices about future career paths!

Address

124 La Trobe Street
Melbourne, VIC
3000

Website

https://cij.org.au/

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