How to use the Toolkit
The Community Peacemaking Toolkit is designed to support careful thinking, local decision-making, and responsible practice development.
It can be used by communities, organisations, agencies, funders, practitioners, and partners who are considering, designing, implementing, coordinating, or strengthening peacemaking practice.
The Toolkit should be read as a guide, not a fixed model. It does not tell every community what peacemaking must look like. Instead, it helps people understand what needs to be considered before decisions are made.
Each section focuses on a different foundation of peacemaking practice. Together, the sections provide a pathway for moving from early interest to readiness, training, practitioner approval, implementation, delivery, and sustainability.
The Toolkit can be used to:
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support local conversations about peacemaking;
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help communities and organisations assess their readiness;
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guide planning before peacemaking is introduced;
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identify training and development needs;
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consider who may be suitable to carry peacemaking responsibilities;
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understand the importance of practitioner approval and support;
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strengthen coordination, referral, safety, and follow-up arrangements;
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and support long-term planning for sustainable practice.
The Toolkit is not intended to be used as a stand-alone implementation package. It does not replace local authority, cultural guidance, training, practitioner approval, legal responsibilities, safety processes, or specialist support.
Using the Toolkit should not be treated as evidence that a person, organisation, program, or service is ready to deliver peacemaking. Readiness depends on the people involved, the authority behind the work, the training and support available, the risks being managed, and the systems in place to protect participants, practitioners, and community.
Communities and organisations are encouraged to move through the Toolkit slowly. Some sections may raise questions that require further discussion, local guidance, or external support before moving forward. This is part of the work. Peacemaking should not be rushed to meet a funding deadline, program launch, organisational priority, or external expectation.
Where the Toolkit identifies standards, safeguards, or risks, these should be used to support better decision-making. They are not intended to take control away from communities. They are intended to help communities and partners see the full shape of the work before they decide their own pathway.
Working with First Nations Peacemaking
First Nations Peacemaking supports communities, organisations, agencies, and partners to apply the Toolkit in practice. This may include readiness conversations, training, practitioner development, implementation planning, approval pathways, quality assurance, and ongoing support.
The strongest use of this Toolkit is not to copy it. It is to use it as a guide for building peacemaking practice that is safe, credible, culturally grounded, accountable, and shaped by place.