Māori experiences of abuse in care

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua.

I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.

Nau mai, tauti mai ki te whārangi ipurangi o te Whakatewhatewha Māori.

Welcome to the Māori investigation webpage.

The Māori investigation will examine issues that are relevant to Māori experiences of abuse in State and faith-based care. It will give voice to the Māori victims and survivors of abuse in care, their whānau, hapū and iwi, and the range of backgrounds and experiences of Māori survivors.

Te reo me ōna tikanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles are essential in informing the work of the Māori Investigation.

The Māori investigation will undertake two key strands of work – looking back and looking forward. With that dual focus, the Māori investigation will investigate issues which include:

• The circumstances that led to Māori children, young people and vulnerable adults being taken into or placed into care
• The appropriateness of care placements including whether Māori were placed with whānau, hapū and iwi or placed in non-kin or residential care
• The nature and extent of abuse of Māori in State care and in the care of faith-based institutions
• The State’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi
• The factors, including structural, systemic, or practical factors, that caused or contributed to the abuse of Māori in State care and in the care of faith-based institutions 
• The impact of the abuse on Māori who were in care, their whānau, hapū, iwi, and communities, including immediate, long term, and intergenerational impacts
• Māori experiences of abuse in care during the main period of investigation from 1950 to 1999, and also experiences before 1950 and from 1999 to the present day
• The current systems for preventing and responding to abuse against Māori, to investigate whether these are fit-for-purpose and identify what changes need to be made as a result. In short, how to ensure that what occurred cannot happen again
• The current frameworks and any gaps in legislation, policy, rules, standards and practices to prevent and respond to the abuse of Māori in care
• Whether changes to legislation, policies, rules, standards, and practices, including oversight mechanisms are required to protect Māori children, young people, and vulnerable adults in the future.

The Māori investigation is guided by an investigation scope document ​based on the Inquiry's Terms of Reference that sets out the issues and topics that will be examined during the investigation. The investigation scope can be read ​in full here. 

The Māori investigation will work alongside the Inquiry’s other investigations into abuse in State and faith-based care settings. Information about the Inquiry’s current investigations can be found here.

It will also conduct kaupapa investigations which will focus on particular kaupapa or issues from our Terms of Reference which are relevant to Māori experiences of abuse in care.  Topics for kaupapa investigations in the Māori investigation are being considered and draft scope documents will be published here once available. We intend that the Māori investigation's first kaupapa investigation will include a public hearing in 2021. 

Providing information to the investigation

Māori victims and survivors, and their whānau, hapū and iwi may have important information that helps the Inquiry investigate what happened.

With your help we can uncover important information about what happened to Māori in State and faith-based care that can inform the Inquiry’s findings. Sharing your experience means the Inquiry can make recommendations that are necessary to prevent and respond to the abuse of Māori in care in the future.

Sharing experiences of abuse will be difficult, but it is important for these stories and accounts to be told and brought into the light. Please click here to access the Inquiry’s wellbeing information and contact page if you need support at any time.

If you think you may know something that helps our investigation then please call us confidentially on 0800 222 727 or register online.