Date: 08/01/2025

The New Zealand Collective of Abuse in State Care Charitable Trust (NZCAST) is calling for immediate and decisive action following the government’s apology to survivors of abuse in care. While the apology marked an important moment of acknowledgment, survivors are left feeling abandoned and betrayed by the lack of meaningful outcomes or progress. Survivors have expressed sadness, disgust, and frustration at what they see as empty promises, with many waiting for action, that never seem to come.

Apology Without Action Is Not Enough

Survivors of abuse in care endured unimaginable harm and trauma, yet many describe feeling re-traumatised by the redress process and the ongoing delays in implementing a system that delivers justice. Survivors repeatedly tell us they feel like they are being forced to wait for outcomes that may never come, and their message is clear: apologies without action are meaningless.

Survivors Deserve Better: Our Recommendations

Immediate Financial Compensation

Survivors are outraged at the delays in receiving adequate compensation. With payouts averaging $19,500 in New Zealand—far below the $100,000-150,000 average in countries like Ireland and Canada. The government must prioritize increasing payouts and expediting claims to honour survivors' experiences. For those who have since passed, their families deserve compensation, and support.

Holistic Support Services Now

Survivors need immediate access to services. These services must be available now, not in years to come.

Counselling and trauma-informed care, with culturally competent options for not just the survivor, but their family too.

Education and employment support that is appropriate and to help rebuild lives shattered by abuse.

Cultural reconnection initiatives for Māori and Pacific survivors who lost their heritage and identity while in care.

These need to be done by survivors, and survivors need to be informed in how to improve access to services they may need from the government, such as WINZ or ACC. Survivors of care are some of the most at-risk and most vulnerable, yet, are seemingly the most ignored?

Clear Timelines and Accountability

Survivors are tired of waiting in limbo. The government must provide clear and enforceable timelines for implementing a new redress system and processing claims. Survivors deserve transparency and accountability at every stage. Our survivors are dying with no action, feeling forced to take claims, in the worry there will never be a new system.

Action on Poor Record-Keeping

Survivors continue to face heavily redacted or inaccurate records, adding to their pain. Immediate measures are needed to address these failings, including support for navigating records, putting them in order, correcting inaccuracies, and ensuring high-trust policies for claims. There should be payment if an individuals records are lost, or inaccurate which prevents them from accessing justice.

Meaningful Accountability and Justice

Survivors are angry that those responsible for abuse often face no consequences. Beyond pitiful compensation, survivors demand accountability from both institutions and individuals. Options for justice must be expanded, and legal barriers must be removed. There must be options and support for survivors to get justice and accountability, this can't be put all on the survivor.

Culturally Competent Services and Support

Survivors, particularly Māori and Pacific people, feel that redress processes are not designed for them. The system must fully integrate Tikanga Māori and Pacific practices, ensuring survivors can reconnect with their culture in a safe and respectful way. Many have lost their culture, and their needs to redress for this, including help support people reconnect weather through DNA tests, transport to wananga, learning their language, or supporting them to attend their iwi's events.

The Reality for Survivors

Survivors are not okay. They feel ignored and disrespected, with many expressing hopelessness at the government’s failure to act. As one survivor put it, “Waiting feels like a slow death. We’ve heard the words, but where is the action?”

The lack of outcomes is not only a policy failure—it is a moral failure. Survivors have already waited too long. They need action, not more delays.

Our Call to Action

The apology must be the beginning of real change, not the end. Survivors deserve justice, meaningful compensation, and the support they need to heal. It is time for the government to deliver on its promises and create a redress system that truly works for survivors.

The time for waiting is over. Survivors deserve better—and they deserve it now.

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