Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions (Royal Commission) has recently concluded and has released its final report.

As part of its work, the Royal Commission has investigated historic abuse that has occurred within faith-based entities during the period 1950-1999. The Royal Commission was set up by Government and is completely independent from the government and from faith-based entities.

We acknowledge the hurt and pain that has been caused in the past to those affected while in our care. We are devastated that this has happened to some people in our care and are so very sorry. The abuse and mistreatment of children, young people and vulnerable adults was, and is, never ok, and is certainly not who we are today. Our values have and will continue to guide us as we walk the long road with survivors to a place of healing. We will be open and transparent. We will show compassion and humility.

As these historic abuses came to light we have, and will, continue to work in a caring and responsive way with the survivors who come forward, to apologise and support them as best we can. We are committed to work with the Royal Commission and will look to take their recommendations on board. To date, as an organisation, we have taken a good hard look at our internal processes and procedures to ensure we always operate to best practice standards.

As noted in the Commission’s final report, we were required to publish our response to the 138 recommendations by 24 November 2024. We have provided our response attached to this page. We have limited this to the 61 recommendations with direct implications for faith-based organisations, noting that the balance of recommendations are focused on Government organisations not directly relevant to PSC.

If you or a member of your family has been harmed while in the care of Presbyterian Support Central, there are ways your concerns can be heard:

• If you have concerns or experiences that you want to share directly with Presbyterian Support Central or wish to seek redress, please contact Patrick Waite in the first instance at , or by phone on 04 439 4980.

• Presbyterian Support Central also encourages any survivor of abuse to approach the New Zealand Police. We will cooperate with the Police in any criminal investigation or prosecution.

M N (Joe) Asghar

Chief Executive

19 November 2024