The Royal Commission would like to thank you for your willingness and courage to engage with us, and for sharing your experiences of abuse in State or faith-based care.  

We want to acknowledge the impact abuse may already have had on you and your whānau. We know that by walking the pathway of sharing these experiences you and your whānau may experience some distress or resurfacing of memories of these experiences.  

Your health, wellbeing and mana are at the centre of our interactions with you and your whānau, so one of the first things we will do is provide wellbeing screening in our first few contacts with you. This may be through our call centre or wellbeing team. We will then work with you to put a package of care in place to suit your needs and values.  

Packages of care are short-term support sessions for survivors (approximately 4-6 sessions) paid for by the Royal Commission – such as counselling and mirimiri. The counselling is not designed to work through trauma or abuse, but instead be a safe, confidential space to talk through your feelings about engaging with the Royal Commission, help you to process any distress you may be experiencing and provide you with evidence-based strategies to manage your wellbeing through this time. 

You are welcome to request support at any stage during your engagement with us. The earlier you can talk with us about your needs, the more time we will have to ensure the most suitable support is put in place for you.  

While the Royal Commission cannot provide long-term support, we can refer you to other providers, such as ACC or community providers.