Discovering Balance - Home
The Institute for Restorative Justice and Penal Reform together with the Centre for Social & Community Research at Murdoch University is organising and hosting 'Discovering Balance...', an international conference to explore issues relating to penal reform, restorative justice and human rights. The conference will include presentations, discussions, and workshops covering a wide range of topics and issues including the impact of imprisonment on individuals and communities, restorative justice processes as an alternative to adversarial approaches, and the concept of restorative prisons.
Latest Updates
- Please note - We have had to cancel the pre-conference reception at Parliament House. This is regrettable but unavoidable.
- If you have not already done so, please complete your conference registration now! We also encourage both you and your partner to attend the conference dinner.
- The conference will be held on the South Street Campus of Murdoch University in Perth (10km from Fremantle and 19 km from Perth city). If you haven't been to Murdoch before, our on-line Google map will show you where we are and how to get here, and our Murdoch campus map wil provide more details of our campus.
- Registration and the conference opening will take place in the Kim E. Beazley Lecture Theatre (Building 351 on the campus map). The registration desk opens at 8.00am on Thursday 2 October where you can collect your name tag and conference pack.
- If you are driving, the best places to park are Carparks 3, 4, or 7 (see the campus map). Once you have parked, make your way to the registration desk in the Kim Beazley Theatre where you can collect a parking voucher to display in your vehicle. The conference organising committee are offering parking vouchers free of charge for conference delegates (and campus parking is free on Saturday).
- The conference proper will begin with a Welcome to Country starting at 9.00am on Thursday 2 October - please try to ensure you arrive on time for this important event.
- We will be providing transport to and from the University for delegates staying at the conference hotel (The Tradewinds in Fremantle). A bus will leave the Tradewinds for the University at 8.00am on Thursday, and 8.30am on Friday and Saturday. The return journey back to the Tradewinds will commence at 5.15pm on Thursday and Friday, and 1.45pm on Saturday.
- Public transport to Murdoch University is also available. Public bus services run regularly between Fremantle and Murdoch University throughout the day. More information about these services can be found on the Transperth web site. The Mandurah Line train also stops close to the Murdoch campus - see the Transperth web site for more information.
- A detailed conference program is available on this site, and a printed version including abstracts will be provided in the conference pack that available at the registration desk.
- The conference web site contains more information about the conference, and an FAQ that answers commonly asked questions. If you have any specific questions, please contact Theo Mackaay: conference@irjpr.net.au
Key Themes and Plenary Sessions
- Prisoner rehabilitation
- Victims' rights and restorative processes
- Human rights in custodial settings
- Indigenous Australians and the criminal justice system
- Restorative prisons
- Restorative justice processes and juveniles
- Promoting restorative processes and human rights in a punitive society
- Prison reform, the media and the public
Invited Speakers
- Professor David Brown: Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Professor Andrew Coyle: International Centre for Prison Studies, Kings College, London
- Professor Richard Harding: Inspector of Custodial Services in Western Australia
- Steven Heath: Chief Magistrate, Western Australia
- Ian Johnson: Commissioner, Department of Corrective Services, Western Australia
- Hon. Christian Porter: Minister for Corrective Services; Attorney General; Member for Bateman
- Professor John Pratt: Institute of Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ
- Baroness Vivien Stern: International Centre for Prison Studies, Kings College, London
- Professor Hilde Tubex: Department of Corrective Services
- Joseph Wallam, Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services
Conference Registration
The organising committee encourages attendance and participation from a wide range of delegates including activists, researchers, academics, interested individuals, community organisations, and students. There are three main levels of registration :
- Full - for delegates working in the private sector, or for government or tertiary institutions
- NGO - for delegates employed by community or non-government organisations
- Unwaged - for student and unwaged delegates
| Earlybird | Late | ||
| Full | |||
| NGO | |||
| Unwaged |
The deadline for earlybird registration is (Full and NGO rates increase after this date).
Day registration is also available if you cannot attend the whole conference. The day rate is the same for all delegates :
- Day registration - (day registration same for all delegates)
Rates have been kept as low as possible to encourage maximum attendance. We will not audit the affiliations of individual delegates, however, we ask all delegates to select a rate appropriate to their circumstance when registering. Check the Registration page for more information.
Check this web site for updates about the conference including details about presentation format, key dates, and abstract submission and registration procedures.