The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care is looking into what happened to children, young people and vulnerable adults while in the care of the State or faith-based institutions, mainly between the years 1950-1999.

The vision for the Royal Commission is:

"Transforming the way we, as a nation, care for children, young people and vulnerable adults in our community."

The Royal Commission is led by a Chair and four Commissioners. They will collect information and undertake investigations over a four-year period and present thier final report to the Governor-General in 2023.

You can read more about the Commission's work, including public hearings and information for survivors, at:

Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care website(external link)

Information for survivors, including how to make a claim or request your person records, is available on the Crown Response website(external link)

How the Crown provides records to the Royal Commission is also explained on the Crown Response website(external link)

The Crown response to the Royal Commission

The Royal Commission is independent of government, but the government is committed to helping it succeed. The government's response to the Inquiry and engagement with survivors is based on six key principles:

  • Manaakitanga - treating people with compassion, fairness and respect to uphold their mana
  • Openness - being open to new ideas and different ways of working
  • Transparency - sharing knowledge and information held by the Crown
  • Learning - listening to survivors' experiences and Royal Commission findings to improve systems
  • Being joined up - agencies working closely together and taking collective responsibility for acting on Royal Commission recommendations
  • Meeting obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi - honouring Te Tiriti principles, meeting Crown obligations and building a stronger Māori-Crown relationship

A small Crown Secretariat helps agencies work together and collectively support the Royal Commission.

Read more about the Secretariat and the Crown response to the Abuse in Care Inquiry(external link)

Outcomes

The Crown would like to see the following outcomes from the Royal Commission process:

  • survivors are heard, and feel heard
  • harm is acknowledged
  • the government care system is improved
  • this type of harm never happens again
  • the experiences of Māori and their impacts are recognised and respected
  • the experiences of people with disabilities and their impacts are recognised and respected

The Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is one of the government agencies working closely to support the Royal Commission. We'll respond to issues and recommendations as they're made so we can learn from the past to better protect children, young people and vulnerable adults.