ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies what we view as necessary characteristics for successful restorative conferencing and reviews some of the different examples of conferencing against these characteristics. In this way, the strengths and weaknesses of specific examples can be identified irrespective of how they have been implemented in any particular jurisdiction. That is to say, the essence of restorative conferencing is not the adoption of one model of conferencing; rather it is any model of conferencing that reflects restorative values and that aims to achieve restorative processes, outcomes, and objectives. We would suggest, therefore, that there is no "right way" to deliver restorative confer-
encing. The key question is not "Does the New Zealand model of conferencing work better than the Wagga Wagga model, RISE, or whatever?" but rather "Are the values underpinning the model and the processes, outcomes, and objectives achieved restorative?"
