Aotearoa Justice Tour: Students gain insight into innovative justice systems

Aotearoa Justice Tour: Students gain insight into innovative justice systems

A group of RMIT law students and staff recently returned from a life-changing study tour to New Zealand, gaining first-hand insights into innovative and community-led justice systems.

This July, RMIT law students joined Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ) Director Stan Winford, Dean of the School of Law Professor Diana Bowman, and Course Coordinator Lloyd England, for an immersive week-long Study Tour to Aotearoa New Zealand. The experience has been described by participants as an inspiring and eye-opening exploration of how legal systems can prioritise healing and accountability. 

Based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), the tour provided a rare opportunity for students to engage directly with Māori legal leaders, restorative justice practitioners, and judicial decision-makers. The focus was on culturally grounded responses to offending that place the community at the centre of the process. 

31 July 2026

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Students walking through lush green landscape.

Academic Lead Lloyd England noted that the tour allowed future practitioners to see a system that serves victims, offenders, and families. 

“The Innovative Justice Tour to NZ is an opportunity for future legal practitioners to witness how a criminal justice system can better serve its victims, offenders, their families, legal personnel and the wider community. Accountability can still be maintained, but instead delivered via a compassionate and human-centred response to offending.”

CIJ Director Stan Winford shared a particularly moving moment from the trip: “At times it was overwhelming to witness - at one point a box of tissues was passed to us from the bar table as we saw a Hakka performed in the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court. But our students also saw something remarkable: courts that act as catalysts for real, positive change in people's lives.”

Group of students posing inside legal building.

Throughout the week, students were asked what drew them to study law at RMIT. Remarkably, many identified the CIJ as a key reason they chose RMIT, highlighting the Centre’s unique commitment to justice innovation and real-world learning opportunities.

“I didn't realise how sceptical I had become of the law until, on the trip, I was continually surprised by the passion, goodness, and success which radiated off the Judges/social workers/mentors/community members who we spoke to. The system is still deeply flawed. However, I felt a renewed sense of optimism seeing how these people are using the law for the betterment of their communities,” said student Isabelle Ritchie. 

By the end of the tour, students returned with newfound clarity about their future pathways, with several sharing that the experience had reshaped their thinking about legal practice, policy and justice reform. 

Student posing with judge.

“The New Zealand Innovative Justice Study Tour has been one of the most transformational experiences of my legal education. It challenged me to reconsider not only how justice is delivered, but how it is experienced by those who come before the law. I return inspired, with a broader perspective on justice, a renewed sense of purpose, and a clearer sense of the lawyer I aspire to become,” said Kate Wallace.  

The Aotearoa Study Tour is just one of the ways RMIT students can gain a broader perspective on their chosen fields through international engagement. 

If you're a current RMIT student, you can explore options to study overseas or attend an overseas study session for more information.

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