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Our current work programme as the Crown Response Office
Our work programme 2021 - 2024
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The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions was established in 2018 to investigate children, young people, and vulnerable adults’ experiences of abuse and neglect in State and non-State care in Aotearoa New Zealand between the years of 1950-1999. The Royal Commission ended on 25 June 2024.
In 2018 a Crown response secretariat was established to coordinate multiple agencies to engage with and respond to the Royal Commission.
In 2019 the secretariat evolved into a Crown Response Unit to address the recommendations in the Royal Commission’s 2021 interm report, He Purapura Ora, he Māra Tipu. From Redress to Puretumu Torowhānui.
In 2024 a Crown Response Office was established following a recommendation in Whanaketia, through pain and trauma, from darkness to light, for a central government agency to coordinate, monitor and report on the government’s response to the Royal Commission. The office is hosted by the Public Service Commission.
The government's current work programme is focused on responding to the Royal Commission's recommendations.
The Royal Commission made 95 recommendations in its 2021 report, He Purapura Ora, He Māra Tipu from Redress to Puretumu Torowhānui and 138 in its final report in 2024, Whanaketia – Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light Whakairihia ki te tihi o Maungārongo.
Of these 233 recommendations in total:
The government response to the 207 recommendations covers the following three areas:
As of May 2025, out of the 207 recommendations addressed to the Crown the Government has:
An overview of the Crown's response is below. This will be updated once a year.
| Complete | Underway | Ongoing | Not started | Total | |
| Accept | 3 | 6 | 10 | - | 19 |
| Accept intent | 4 | 28 | 6 | - | 38 |
| Partially accept | 6 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 28 |
| Further consideration required | - | 38 | - | 61 | 99 |
| Decline | 23 | - | - | - | 23 |
| Total | 36 | 85 | 24 | 62 | 207 |
The definitions of the response are:
Accept: The recommendation is accepted. It will be implemented as it was set out by the Royal Commission.
Accept intent: The intent of the recommendation is accepted. It will be implemented in a different way than set out by the Royal Commission.
Partially accept: One or more sub-parts of the recommendation are accepted as set out by the Royal Commission. The recommendation is not accepted in full.
Further consideration required: The recommendation requires further consideration before a response can be determined.
Decline: Following analysis and a decision-making process, the Crown declines to implement this recommendation.
The definitions of the status are:
Not started: Work on the analysis and/or implementation of the recommendation has not yet started.
Under way: Work has begun on the analysis and/or implementation of the recommendation.
Complete: Work on the recommendation has been completed, consistent with the agreed project scope and decisionmaking process.
Ongoing: The work to deliver on the recommendation part of an ongoing programme of work or activity.
Crown response digital version for reading online [PDF, 2 MB]
Crown response plan version for printing [PDF, 2.2 MB]
The Royal Commission’s recommendations are summarised throughout the document but have not been duplicated, because of their length. The recommendations can be found in full here:
Proactive release of Cabinet papers
You can find proactively released Cabinet papers about the response here:
Since Whanaketia was published, several actions have been taken. These are:
The Government broadly accepts the Royal Commission’s overall findings in response to recommendation 130 in Whanaketia that states: the Government publish a response to its findings in both the final and interim reports within two months of the report being tabled in Parliament (24 September 2024).
There are over 500 findings in the Royal Commission’s final and interim reports: Reports | Abuse in Care - Royal Commission of Inquiry(external link)).
The findings focus on survivors experiences of abuse and factors that contributed to that abuse.
A detailed response to these findings would require officials from multiple agencies to test each individual finding. This would be a resource and time intensive process but would not support the people who were abused in care or improve the safety of people who are currently in care.
Instead, Crown response agencies are responding to the Royal Commission recommendations which aim to both support survivors of abuse in care and improve the current care system.
The Crown Response Office is supporting multiple agencies to implement improvements to redress and the care safety system.
The Royal Commission’s 2021 redress report identified failings in the Crown’s approach to providing redress to survivors of abuse in care. It recommended a new independent redress system to make things right for survivors of abuse in care and the Crown begin work on the following four projects ahead of the design of an independent redress system:
From 2021 - 2024, the Crown Response Unit worked with agencies to deliver the projects and supported agencies and Ministers with policy considerations.
The following is an update on those projects.
In December 2022 rapid payments were prioritised by the Ministry of Social Development for survivors who are seriously ill or unwell, aged over 70, or those with the oldest claims.
Rapid Payments are now fully integrated into the Ministry's historic claims process.
There are four historic claims agencies:
Find out more: Historic claims agency details
On 12 November 2024, the Prime Minister announced an additional $32 million to increase capacity in the current system while the government works on a new redress system.
In response to the Royal Commission’s recommendation to provide an avenue for survivors to share their experiences of abuse in care the Government (an interim listening service) established the Survivor Experiences Service(external link)(external link) in July 2023.
The service is housed within Te Tari Taiwhenua – Department of Internal Affairs and is guided by an independent Board to provide a safe, supportive, confidential place for survivors of abuse in care, and their whānau, to share their experiences. The Survivor Experiences Service can also help survivors request, receive and understand their care records.
To contact the Survivor Experiences Service:
Visit Home | Survivor Experiences Service(external link)(external link) for more information.
The Royal Commission found that many survivors had difficulty accessing their records. The issues included lengthy delays; or getting incomplete or heavily redacted information.
Over the last couple of years, the Crown Response Unit and Archives New Zealand worked together on five initiatives to make it easier for survivors of abuse to access their personal records while they were in care:
For details about this work visit: Improving access to records
The Royal Commission recommended the Crown and relevant faith-based organisations should publicly acknowledge and apologise for the tūkino, or abuse, inflicted and suffered.
The Prime Minister and seven public sector leaders formally apologised to survivors of abuse in care on 12 November 2024:
Responses from faith-based insitutions to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry are below:
In 2023, the Crown Response Unit supported the establishment of a Design Group and Advisory Group to develop a high-level design of an independent redress system.
The Design Group co-chairs were appointed by the Minister for the Public Service in April 2023. They were Dr Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu) and Ruth Jones QSM (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata).
Members of the design and advisory groups were nominated by an independent candidate review panel.
On 14 December 2023, the Co-chairs of the Design Group submitted the high-level proposals [PDF, 5.4 MB] on the redress system to the Government.
On 12 November 2024, the Prime Minister announced an additional $32 million to increase capacity in the current system(external link) while the government works on a new redress system in 2025.
In May 2025, the Government outlined improvements to redress and the care safety system.
If you would like to stay up to date on the government's response please email: contact@abuseinquiryresponse.govt.nz with 'Pānui, Newsletter' in the email subject line.(external link)(external link)
