The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and 1978 did not have any form of mental illness, yet were subjected to unmodified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or paraldehyde injections.
The United Nations Committee against Torture found New Zealand in breach of its obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. On 24 July 2024, the Government formally acknowledged that torture(external link) occurred at the Lake Alice Unit as defined in the Convention.
On 18 December 2024, the Government confirmed(external link) how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit).
There are two eligibility requirements:
The redress is only available for living survivors. However, if the eligible survivor died after registering their interest to make a redress claim, the estate of the survivor can progress the claim.
Redress includes:
There are two options for a payment. Lake Alice survivors can choose:
If you have received a previous Lake Alice settlement you can still receive the torture redress payment in addition to your settlement.
If you have received an end-of-life payment, $20,000 would be deducted from your redress payment.
Payments will not affect survivors’ tax status or their entitlements to MSD-administered assistance.
Please register your interest with the Crown Response Office to make a claim.
You will need to provide us with your name, date of birth and best way to contact you. This will complete the registration process and we will be in touch with the next steps.
lakealice@abuseinquiryresponse.govt.nz
Freephone 0800 237 003
This is a phone message service. To complete the registration process, please leave your:
| Week of 20 January 2025 |
Registered survivors will be provided with details of members of the independent legal panel Registered survivors able to nominate chosen payment option |
| February 2025 | Appointment of independent arbiter |
| March 2025 | Payments will commence for fixed payment |
| 30 April 2025 | Applications for individual payment closes |
| 30 September 2025 | Applications for fixed payment closes Arbiter required to have completed individualised process |
| 31 December 2025 | Final payments complete |
Free legal advice is available to support you with your eligibility process and/or to provide advice on which payment pathway option to choose.
Below is a list of independent lawyers for you to choose from. You can choose a lawyer from this list or choose your own lawyer.
If you use your own lawyer, the Crown Response Office will cover their costs up to the amount it is paying the independent lawyers to provide free legal advice.
Please ask your own lawyer to contact the Crown Response Office via our Lake Alice email address:
Independent legal panel contact details
| Name | Biography | Contact Details | Location |
| Frances Joychild KC | Frances Joychild KC is a barrister with over thirty years of practice before Courts and Tribunals in New Zealand. She also undertakes inquiries and investigations and provides opinions and advice. Frances works in the areas of public law, human rights and refugee, professional negligence, employment, privacy and information, sexual harassment and bullying, abuse, and assault, general litigation including tort and equity, insurance, property, land law and trusts, and international human rights advice. Frances appears in all levels of the court structure and is a registered legal aid provider. She acted for the group of Lake Alice survivors, known and unknown, before the Royal Commission hearing into Lake Alice. She has experience acting for people with mental and physical disabilities and multiple ethnicities, particularly Māori, Pakeha and Pacific people. |
Phone: 027 423 4007 Email: frances@francesjoychildqc.co.nz Postal: PO Box 47 947 Courier: 18 Iona Avenue, Auckland 0739 |
Auckland |
| Amanda Hill | Amanda is based in the Wellington region and has been a lawyer since 2005. She has spent most of her career working in the historic claims space and, more recently, for people harmed in the corrections system. Amanda believes there is immense power in obtaining apology, acknowledgement, and compensation to right those wrongs. In addition to historic claims work, Amanda has broad experience across the law, ranging from privacy and medico-legal, negligence claims to Bill of Rights actions for prisoners. She has appeared in a range of courts and tribunals and before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care. |
Phone: 021 566 997 Email: amanda@amandahill.co.nz |
Wellington |
| Ben Keith | Ben is a barrister based in Wellington. He has conducted proceedings for and against public bodies at all levels of the New Zealand courts, including the Supreme Court, the Privy Council and the Waitangi Tribunal, as well in several other jurisdictions and before United Nations bodies. He has significant experience with human rights compensation claims, the Crimes of Torture Act 1989, and the Convention against Torture. He has also advised and represented survivors before and following the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. Before joining the independent bar in 2017, Ben worked as the first Deputy Inspector-General of intelligence and Security (2014-2017) and as a specialist Crown Counsel responsible for constitutional, human rights and international law. |
Phone: 04 473 3133 Phone: 021 678 739 Email: contact@benkeith.co.nz |
Wellington |
| Julia Spelman | Julia (Ngāti Hikairo ki Kawhia, Waikato) is an independent barrister based in Wellington. An experienced courtroom advocate, Julia provides clear, easy to understand advice. She acts for people facing serious criminal charges, parole hearings, inquests, and appeals. From 2019-2023, Julia held an appointment as Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historic Abuse in State and Faith-based Care. During this time, Julia worked with survivors to prepare and present their experiences. This included appearing as Counsel Assisting in the hearings for Māori Experiences (lead counsel), Disability, Residential Schools, Marylands, Contextual, and the State Institutional Response Hearing. Julia is skilled at working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. She is the co-convenor of the criminal law committee of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa (the Māori Lawyers Association.) Julia is a speaker of te reo Māori and is passionate about incorporating te reo and tikanga into her legal practice. |
Phone: 021 089 06353 Email: julia@spelman.co.nz |
Wellington |
| Tom Powell | Tom is a senior lawyer who has experience in representing survivors of abuse in care, including those with disabilities and complex needs. Tom was the head of legal and investigations at the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry that delivered its final report and recommendations to the government on June 2024. Tom also worked in the United Kingdom, leading investigations into the national health service and recommendations for redress payments to be made to survivors of the infected blood scandal. |
Phone: 027 365 4263 Email: tom@bowenchambers.co.nz |
Wellington |
| Echo Haronga | Echo (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Pākehā) is a specialist criminal litigation lawyer. As a speaker of te reo Māori, Echo embraces te reo and tikanga Māori when working with Māori clients. She holds positions on the leadership committee of Te Matakahi (the Defence Lawyers Association of NZ) and the Executive of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, (the Māori Law Society). She is also one of the co-convenors for the THRMoA Criminal Law Reform Subcommittee. |
Phone: 027 324 6529 Email: echo.haronga@outlook.co.nz |
Hawke's Bay |
Financial advice is also available, and you can also ask the Crown Response Office to make the redress payment in instalments, if you do not wish to receive your financial redress in one payment.
Te Whatu Ora/Health New Zealand
ACC
Disabled People support
Telephone helplines or services that offer support, information and help
