Frequently Asked Questions

Restorative responses, restorative justice, restorative practices and restorative systems are all based on and apply the same relational values, principles, and philosophy. A consistent aim is the creation of interpersonal and societal institutions that foster human dignity, respect, equity, safety, mutuality, responsibility, community participation and collaborative governance. In the complex health environment, restorative systems should ideally focus their efforts on proactively promoting wellbeing and safety and less time in a reactive state responding to harm.

Healthcare harm may be defined as a physical, psychological, social or spiritual event, injury or experience that occurs during the provision of care. In the complex health environment, harm can emerge from conflict, complaints or incidents and often affects many people.  It is a potentially traumatising experience influenced by the context of individuals, relationships and the policies and practices involved. 

Improving mental health is a global priority that requires consideration of how health system processes can promote, erode, or negatively impact well-being. Compounded harm emerges from well-intentioned responses that fail to account for the human impacts, needs, and obligations involved. It is associated with relational or structural violations that inhibit human agency and deny individuals or communities access to the resources they need to make sense of and heal from a harmful experience in a safe environment, or the structural rights citizens expect. Mitigating compounded harm is essential because it is characterised by interpersonal violence, nested conflict, mental distress, moral injury, trauma, post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS), and even suicide.  

Restorative responses are primarily concerned with the restoration of dignity, wellbeing and trust alongside learning and system improvement.  In the complex health environment, restorative responses incorporate trauma informed practices that enable safety (psychological, physical, cultural, emotional); access to justice (epistemic, transformational, restorative); and evidence-based tools that support learning and improvement. Restorative responses are associated with a range of desirable outcomes including mutual learning or healing, resolution or reconciliation, meaningful apology and forgiveness and enhanced collaboration between individuals, communities and institutions.