Update about the redress implementation plan
In this newsletter you will find updates on the: Redress improvements, National day of reflection fund, Top-up payments for closed claimants.
Update on redress improvements
The government has published a Redress Implementation Plan [PDF, 364 KB] (the Plan) that describes what, how and when improvements will be made to redress for survivors of abuse and neglect in State care.
The Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Oranga Tamariki, Department of Corrections, Te Puni Kōkiri and the Crown Response Office are responsible for implementing a range of redress improvements over the next few years.
The timeframe for the Plan reflects what changes can happen now and what requires more work over the next three years.
As changes are implemented, data and feedback from survivors will be used to understand the impact of the changes, what is working well, and where further changes are required. This will support an independent review of the redress changes in 2027.
As a result, the Plan is a living document that will be updated regularly.
The four areas of improvement in the plan are:
Improve settlement offerings and increase alignment and consistency across the system
Redress offerings are improved to ensure survivors have a consistent experience irrespective of which State agency is responsible for their care. The current redress offerings are: financial recognition, wellbeing support, records access and apologies to survivors. There is also a focus on enhancements to address concerns raised by survivors.
Resolve redress claims in a timely manner
There is a backlog of over 3,000 open unresolved claims with the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education, resulting in wait times of up to five years to process claims. Although agencies prioritise claimants who are terminally ill or elderly, delays in redress add to the harm already experienced by survivors. Timely, transparent, and compassionate handling of redress claims is essential.
Improve access to and navigation of redress services
The improvements will bring the State redress systems together to ensure survivors receive a joined-up and consistent service irrespective of which State agency they were in the care of. A single-entry point and joined-up response will remove the need for survivors to register multiple claims. Instead, survivors will have their claims managed as one claim with one point of contact. A single set of policies for all agencies will be developed and published online for survivors to understand how decisions on their redress are made.
Improve trust and confidence in the redress system
To improve trust and confidence in the redress system the following initiatives will be delivered:
- an independent review function for survivors with concerns about their settlement offer
- a common monitoring and reporting framework incorporating survivors’ insights on their experiences seeking redress
- the appointment of an independent Redress Officer to ensure financial payments to survivors with serious violent and sexual offences would not bring the redress system into disrepute
- an independent review of the impact of the system changes.
The Plan can be found here: Redress and care safety improvements | Crown response to the Abuse in Care Inquiry(external link)
National Day of Reflection
On 12 November 2025 there will be a National Day of Reflection to reflect and remember survivors of abuse in care.
The national day is a community-led day and the government provided funding support to organisations to hold events at a community, regional and national level for and on behalf of survivors.
To date, 82 survivor focused events have been approved for funding.
Top-up payments
On 9 May 2025, survivors with a closed claim were invited to register for a top-up payment if they had received a settlement payment from the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Education, Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Health and/or the Crown Health Financing Agency.
As of 18 September, 3,073 registrations have been received for top-ups and 1,761 have been assessed for eligibility with 1,314 registrations confirmed eligible. Out of these, 751 survivors have received a top-up payment so far.
The team is currently experiencing high volumes for top-up payment applications and is working through these as quickly as they can.
When an application is ready to be processed a staff member will contact the survivor to discuss timeframes for processing and payment. Processing involves several steps:
- calculate a top-up based on different situations
- inform the survivor of the payment amount
- seek bank verification information
- ask the survivor if they want to proceed
- make the payment.
To register to receive a top-up payment: www.abuseincaretopups.govt.nz(external link)
If you cannot access a website easily, contact details are below:
- if you are in New Zealand, call 0800 TOP UPS – 0800 867 877 between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday
- if you are calling from overseas, call +64 4 931 1678
- email, contact@abuseincaretopups.govt.nz