1. This Part focuses on the social attitudes, care practices, how government operated and important events that influenced the care systems in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is not intended to be a comprehensive history, but highlights key themes and topics that are important context to what this Inquiry heard.

2. Chapter 2 covers traditional societal attitudes to care, including Māori, Pacific Peoples and Pākehā.

3. Chapter 3 looks at Māori relationships and interactions with faiths and the Crown including the signing of He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tirene – the Declaration of Independence and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

4. Chapter 4 discusses the social attitudes, values and beliefs present before and during the Inquiry period (1950–1999) that were reflected in legislation, policy, and operational practice around care settings.

5. Chapters 5 – 7 cover the decades of the Inquiry period with a focus on key events and developments for Māori, Pacific Peoples, Deaf, disabled people and people experiencing mental distress. They also explore areas such as human rights and understandings of child development, neurodivergence and trauma. It also looks at poverty, available social support and economic conditions in each decade.

6. Chapter 8 looks at available data on Māori, Deaf, disabled people, people experiencing mental distress and Pacific Peoples during the Inquiry period and how these populations changed over time. It also looks at the changes in religious affiliation between 1950–1999.

7. Chapter 9 gives an overview of how government makes decisions and operates in Aotearoa New Zealand, and of how the State sector was organised and run during the Inquiry period.

8. Chapter 10 covers the State and faith-based care system frameworks. This includes the relevant legislation, approaches to care, the different types of care settings, the governance structures of the faiths and key roles and responsibilities within State and faith-based care settings.

9. Chapter 11 outlines the different types of care settings that existed in Aotearoa New Zealand during the Inquiry period.