Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care

In New Zealand, a royal commission is a formal government inquiry into a specific issue.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions was formally established on 1 February 2018. The commission was established to "consider the experiences of children, young persons, and vulnerable adults who were in care between I January 1950 and 31 December 1999 inclusive".

The Department of Internal Affairs is responsible for administering the inquiry.

The Abuse in Care Royal Commission requests thousands of historical records from Archives New Zealand. This video shows how we find, processes and securely provide this information. Watch the video on Youtube.

Here at Archives we hold the records and information of the New Zealand government. This includes those of the organisations that administer state care. We hold thousands of records that are relevant to the Royal Commission and are committed to doing what we can to support the inquiry.

These can include files on families or individuals and policy and administrative records. We see the importance of the care leavers and will make it as easy as possible for them to get their personal records.

If you were in state care such as a children’s home we may hold a record about you. If you were in faith-based care such as a church home we will not hold your record unless you were also in the care of the state at the time.

Not all records have survived and we can’t guarantee we’ll hold a record about you. If we do, we’ll help you find it.

A record containing information about your care will be restricted. This means that even your name will not be listed publicly on Archway. And your record can’t be accessed by anyone without permission.

While your case file is restricted, other information about you may be contained elsewhere in Archives' holdings.

The most common restriction on a record is closed for 100 years after a person’s birth or close of the file to protect their privacy.

To get a copy of a record that contains details about yourself, you can contact us and tell us where and when you were in care. We’ll search the archives on your behalf.

Even though your record may be located here, we can’t show it to you without permission from the organisation that placed it in our care.

If we do hold your record, we’ll tell you who you need to contact to get permission to see it. The organisation will send you a letter or email granting permission, which you must bring with you when you visit our reading room. It should also send a copy to us. If the organisation allows it, you can also arrange to have a copy made.

This process can take a few weeks. We need to find the record. Then you will need to arrange permission to view it. The time this step takes can vary between organisations. It’s not always easy for us to find these records. Many are not listed by your name and many will be amid large volumes of other information.

Delays are frustrating, but the process is there to make sure we do a thorough search and your privacy remains protected.

These are the main government departments who created records on children in state care and who may have created records about you and the institution you were in:

• Education

• Child Welfare

• Justice

• Health

• Maori Affairs

• Police

• Corrections

The types of records made are wide ranging and include:

• Individual case files such as care, welfare, adoption

• Family files

• Logs, for example day/night books, and diaries

• Registers such as punishment, admission/discharge, medication, lockup

Some records will contain information on more than one person. In this case you may receive a copy of your own information, but anything about other people will be redacted to protect their privacy by the organisation that created the record.

On 28 March 2019 the Chief Archivist issued a General Notice under Section 20 of the Public Records Act 2005 to implement a moratorium on the disposal of any records relevant to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-Based Institutions Te Kōmihana Karauna mō ngā Tūkino o Mua ki te Hunga i Tiakina e te Kāwanatanga i Tiakina hoki e ngā Whare o te Whakapono as set out in its Terms of Reference.

It was in place until 11 April 2024 when it was replaced by the temporary care records protection instruction.

Learn more about the disposal moratorium on records relevant to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historic Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-Based Institutions.

Learn more about the temporary care records protection instruction.

Archives New Zealand takes its role as keeper of the public record very seriously. We support the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. If we have your record we’ll do all we can to help you find it, and to ensure that the process is as easy for you as possible.