General policy statement

This Bill establishes a legal framework for the provision of redress to survivors of abuse in State care. It applies to existing redress schemes operated by the Ministries of Education, Health, and Social Development, Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children, the Department of Corrections, and the Ministry of Māori Development—Te Puni Kōkiri (core State agencies).

The purpose of this Bill is to—

• introduce a presumption against financial redress for serious violent or sexual offenders; and

• provide legal protections for core State agencies when making apologies for abuse in State care.

The New Zealand Government’s approach to responding to claims of abuse in State care has developed over the past 2 decades as an alternative dispute resolution model. Initially shaped by litigation against the Crown in the 1990s, State redress for abuse in care has evolved to focus on resolving claims out of court.

This Bill provides that the purpose of a redress scheme operated by a core State agency is to—

• recognise a person’s experience of abuse in care; and

• offer an alternative to litigation to provide for redress for abuse in care, including the provision of 1 or more of the following:

  • a financial payment (financial redress):

  • an apology:

  • counselling or other well-being support.

The Government made taken a series of decisions responding to the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions regarding redress for claims of abuse in State care and those decisions requiring legislative change are progressed through this Bill. The complete list of decisions is detailed in the Crown Response Plan (available at https://www.abuseinquiryresponse.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Crown-response-plan/Crown-response-plan-digital-version.pdf).

A financial payment is one element of redress. The Government considers that making payments to individuals convicted of serious violent or sexual offences, without further independent consideration, risks bringing the redress system into disrepute.

Accordingly, this Bill introduces a presumption against making redress payments to new claimants who—

• make a claim on or after 9 May 2025 for financial redress for abuse in care; and

• have been convicted of a qualifying offence under Schedule 1AB of the Sentencing Act 2002; and

• were sentenced to 5 years or more in prison for that offence.

This Bill establishes an independent decision maker (the redress officer) who can overturn the presumption in circumstances in which the making of a payment would not bring the redress system into disrepute. This Bill sets out the appointment criteria, functions, and reporting obligations of the redress officer.

To support the integrity of the redress system, this Bill creates new strict liability offences for—

• failing to declare a qualifying conviction when applying for redress; and

• failing to disclose a subsequent conviction before redress is granted.

Each offence carries a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine.

Apologies form an important part of the redress provided to survivors of abuse in care. However, the risk of liability following an apology in a context where it has not been possible to fully establish the facts provides a disincentive to the making of fulsome apologies by core State agencies. This Bill provides that personal apologies given by core State agencies as part of providing redress for abuse in care will not be admissible as evidence in civil proceedings that seek remedies for abuse in State care and are not to be treated as expressly or implicitly admitting guilt.

These protections will help core State agencies to make more fulsome apologies that meet the needs and expectations of survivors.