Mō mātou - About Us | Crown response to the Abuse in Care Inquiry

About us

We coordinate the Government’s response to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry(external link).

The Royal Commission was set up by the Government in 2018 to investigate what happened to children, young people and vulnerable adults in State and faith-based care in Aotearoa New Zealand between the years 1950-99. Its final report is due in 2024.
The Crown Response Unit was set up in 2019 as a small autonomous unit, housed within Oranga Tamariki. We have close working relationships with multiple government agencies.

Find out more about our work.(external link)

Our approach

The Crown is committed to a principles-based approach in its dealings with the Royal Commission and survivors of abuse in care. The six principles setting out how the Crown will respond to the Royal Commission are:

manaakitanga – that is, treating people with the compassion, fairness, and respect that upholds the mana of all those involved
openness – being receptive to new ideas, and to reconsidering how things have been done in the past and the way agencies operate now
transparency – sharing knowledge and information held by the Crown, including the reasons behind key actions
learning – listening attentively to survivors, learning from the Royal Commission, and using that information to improve systems
being joined up – agencies working together closely, helped by a dedicated secretariat and chief executive sponsoring group, to make sure government engagement with the Royal Commission is coordinated and resulting actions on recommendations are collectively owned, and
meeting obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi – honouring the Treaty principles, meeting Crown obligations and building a stronger Māori-Crown relationship through the way the Crown operates and behaves during this process and after it, when implementing its lessons.

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
Māori experiences and their impacts are recognised and respected
disabled peoples’ experiences and their impacts are recognised and respected.

Governance

Strategic governance of the Crown Response is provided by a Sponsoring Group made up of the Chief Executives from:

Ministry of Education
Manatū Hauora - Ministry of Health
Ministry of Social Development
Oranga Tamariki
Whaikaha-Ministry of Disabled People
the Crown Law Office.

The Chair of the Sponsoring Group is the Secretary of Education, Iona Holsted.

The Minister for the Public Service, Hon Andrew Little, is the Minister responsible for the Crown Response to the Abuse in Care Inquiry.

An interagency group oversees and helps coordinate agencies' contributions to the Crown Response. The group includes representatives of the following agencies most directly involved in State care, or holding key records about care history:

Ministry of Social Development
Oranga Tamariki
Manatū Hauora - Ministry of Health
Ministry of Education
Department of Corrections
Ministry of Justice
Archives New Zealand
New Zealand Police
Te Puni Kōkiri
Te Kawa Mataaho - Public Service Commission,
Whaikaha-Ministry of Disabled People
Crown Law Office
ACC

Our Director

Isaac Carlson, Crown Response Unit Director Isaac Carlson is the Director of the Crown Response Unit.

Isaac (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne) was previously Head of Injury Prevention at ACC, where he worked since 2007 across all aspects of prevention, care and recovery. He has worked collaboratively across the public sector in strengthening partnerships, supporting the delivery of public sector strategies, and supporting the development of whānau-centred well-being models.

Isaac started on 1 February 2023. He replaced Alana Ruakere.

Our news

For news about our work and media releases from the Minister for Public Services go to Karere - Our news section.

Alternate formats

You can find alternate formats about our work programme in Easy Read, large print, audio, NZSL and braille formats: Alternate formats.

Last modified: 30 May 2023