The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions (NZ Royal Commission) was established by the New Zealand Government on 1 February 2018  following widespread community and political calls. These included a 2017 recommendation from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination regarding the abuse of children and adults with disabilities in state care and a petition with over 15,000 signatories delivered to Parliament by Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy which demanded an inquiry and a public apology.

The NZ Royal Commission lasted five and a half years and was New Zealand's biggest and most expensive inquiry to date. The final report and recommendations were released on 24 July 2024 and focused on the abuse and neglect of children, young persons, and vulnerable adults in state and faith based institutions from 1950 to 1999. The inclusion of vulnerable adults into the NZ Royal Commission was a key difference to Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that occurred between 2013 and 2017 (Australian Royal Commission). 

• The NZ Royal Commission heard from more than 3,000 survivors and estimated that up to 40% of the 655,000 young people and adults in care, between 1950 and 2019, were abused and neglected. Although this estimate may underrepresent the true figures due to the passage of time, barriers to disclosure, unreported abuse and steps commonly taken to conceal abuse.

• The economic and social costs of the alleged abuse across the lifetime of a survivor were  estimated at approximately $673,000, representing almost 80% of the estimated lifetime costs associated with incidents of abuse. 

• A total of 138 recommendations were made, highlighting similar issues to the Australian Royal Commission, including  systemic failures in the handling of abuse allegations, the life-long impact of abuse on survivors and the need for political reform through a redress scheme.

Maintaining and implementing proper child and adult safeguarding practices ensures care providers address the sometimes unnoticed power imbalances that often exist within a care setting so those within its care are free from abuse and/or neglect. The NZ Royal Commission made a suite of recommendations for how institutions and care providers can prioritise appropriate child safeguarding measures. Whilst the full suite of recommendations can be found here, we highlight a few below to ensure care providers are implementing the highest standard of care and oversight.

1. Promote a positive safeguarding culture (Recommendation 54)
   
   Organisations that provide care services are encouraged to designate a safeguarding lead that holds sufficient experience and seniority. This recommendation also highlights the need for organisations to prioritise, support and train staff so they have continued professional development in proper safeguarding practices. This recommendation strengthens an organisation's commitment to Principle 1 of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations that were established by the Australian Human Rights Commission. 

2. Enforce the same consistent standards that apply to vetting, registration, training and working conditions not just to employees but to all volunteers or others with equivalent access to children and vulnerable adults (Recommendation 64)
   
   Applying uniform rules ensures that any individual with access to children or vulnerable adults meets the same high standards that organisations employ upon paid employees. This not only protects organisations from liabilities arising from abuse or neglect perpetrated by volunteers, but also helps create an environment where all carers are better equipped to understand their responsibilities, recognise signs of abuse, and respond appropriately.

3. Physical buildings and design features should be reviewed regularly to identify and address elements that may place children and vulnerable adults at risk of abuse and neglect (Recommendation 75)
   
   The NZ Royal Commission specifically recommended reviewing care settings with physically isolated spaces (e.g. private offices or a confessional box).Organisations should ensure that tailored measures are in place to address the risk of undetected abuse and neglect arising in these settings. For example, using spaces that have various lines of sight and are not isolated as well as the use of CCTV cameras in larger public spaces although the use of cameras should not infringe personal privacy. Further, when care is delivered in a geographically isolated or remote area, tailored supervision plans and heightened awareness should be in place to safeguard against abuse and/or neglect. 

4. Records relating to alleged abuse and neglect in care should be retained for at least 75 years in a separate central register (Recommendation 83)
   
   This measure goes beyond the Australian Royal Commission's recommendation that organisations should retain records for at least 45 years as the NZ Royal Commission considers the added timeframe best practice so as to allow for delayed disclosure, redress claims and/or civil litigation. Considering trauma and stigma surrounding abuse often inhibits survivors from coming forward for many years, records should be available for situations where survivors do come forward.

The full suite of the NZ Royal Commission's recommendations can be found here and the full report here.