He kuputaka o ngā kupu ka whakamahia

Glossary of terms used

In October 2024 the Glossary of terms was amended to clarify:

• that aged residential and in-home care, including private care, are types of State and non-State care settings, and

• the term ‘Individual’ includes both living and deceased people who are or have been in State or non-State care.

Care settings

See also State care settings for a more specific list of settings State care may be provided in.

The different types of places State and non-State care is provided, including for example:

• children’s homes or residences

• foster care

• a family home where an external provider is responsible for care

• State or non-State involvement in adoptions

• psychiatric and psychopaedic hospitals or these wards within general hospitals

• health camps

• aged residential and in-home care, including private care

• early childhood education centres

• schools

• residential special schools

• teen parent units

• borstals

• police cells

• police custody

• court cells

• a place they attend any course required under their care plan, and

• any transition between facilities that provide care, and so on.

See State care settings for a more specific list of settings State care may be provided in, including specific exclusions.

What care settings do not include

Care does not include the following, unless the person was also in a care setting at the time:

• people in prisons, including private prisons

• general hospital admissions, including private hospitals except for psychiatric and psychopaedic wards

• immigration detention.

Source: Adapted from Clause 17.9 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions Terms of Reference.

The decision-making process for retaining, transferring or destroying information and records. Section 4 of the Public Records Act 2005 outlines the types of possible disposal actions. These are:

• transfer of control to another agency

• sale

• alteration

• destruction, or

• discharge.

Discharge may include giving the records to the person who the records were written about.

Source: Archives NZ.

Disposal authorities are legal instruments issued by the Chief Archivist that say how long agencies should retain specific types of information and records, and which disposal action should apply to the records afterwards.

Source: Archives NZ.

All the people in an individual’s family. This includes, for example:

• siblings

• whānau

• whāngai

• hapū, and iwi, and so on

and anyone else who is related to the individual or is like family to the individual.

Source: page 2, Child-friendly statement of rights and other matters, Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children.

A child or vulnerable adult (you can find a definition for vulnerable adult below) in — or who has been in — State or non-State care, irrespective of whether they are living or deceased.

Source: Archives NZ. Different legislation uses different ages to define adults and children. Because of this — and to ensure both are included — we have decided for the purposes of this definition that child means under the age of 18. People who are 18 years or older and in care are classed as a vulnerable adult.

Non-government organisation, or NGO, means a not-for-profit, self-governing organisation that is independent of central or local government.

Source: Part 2: Types of funding arrangements and relationships with non-government organisations — Office of the Auditor-General New Zealand (oag.parliament.nz).

Non-State care means the care services are provided independently of the State — and not under contract to the State — where the non-State organisation assumed responsibility for the care of an individual. For example, this could include faith-based institutions, or non-government organisations where the care is not funded by the State.

The definition of a public office is broad. It is defined in section 4 of the Public Records Act 2005.

Essentially, public offices are the agencies and instruments of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of central government. They include, for example:

• government departments

• Crown entities

• Crown research institutes

• state enterprises

• district public health services

• tertiary institutions

• state and integrated schools, and so on.

Source: Adapted from page 1, 16/F6 v2 Key obligations – Public Records Act 2005, Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand.

State care means the State assumed responsibility — whether directly or indirectly — for the care of the individual concerned.

• The State may have assumed responsibility for a person as the result of a decision or action by a State official, court order, or voluntary or consent-based process. For example, this could include the acceptance of self-referrals or the referral of an individual into care by a parent, guardian, or other person.

• The State may have assumed responsibility indirectly when it passed on its authority or care functions to another individual, entity, or service provider, whether by delegation, contract, licence, or in any other way. This could include private entities and service providers, whether they are formally incorporated or not and however they are described.

Source: Clause 17.3 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions Terms of Reference.

State care (direct or indirect) includes the following settings. They may be residential or non-residential and may provide voluntary or non-voluntary care.

See also Care settings for a summary list of the different types of places State and non-State care is provided.

Social welfare settings

Examples of social welfare settings include:

• care and protection residences and youth justice residences

• child welfare and youth justice placements, including foster care and adoptions placements

• children’s homes, borstals, or similar facilities, and so on.

Health and disability settings

Examples of health and disability settings include:

• psychiatric hospitals or facilities — including all places within these facilities

• residential or non-residential disability facilities — including all places within these facilities

• non-residential psychiatric or disability care

• health camps, and so on.

Educational settings

Examples of educational settings include:

• early childhood educational facilities

• primary, intermediate, and secondary State schools, including boarding schools

• residential special schools and regional health schools

• teen parent units, and so on.

Transitional and law enforcement settings

Examples of transitional and law enforcement settings include:

• police cells

• police custody

• court cells

• on the way to, between, or out of State care facilities or settings, and so on.

See Care settings for a summary list of the different types of places State and non-State care are provided.

What State care does not include

Care does not include the following, unless the person was also in a care setting at the time:

• people in prisons, including private prisons

• general hospital admissions, including private hospitals

• immigration detention.

However, the experience of a person in these facilities or settings may be considered if the person was also in State care at the time.

Care settings outside of Aotearoa New Zealand

For the avoidance of doubt, ‘care settings’ relates only to care provided to an individual in New Zealand.

Source: Adapted from Clause 17.3 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions Terms of Reference.

Being trauma-informed is about creating opportunities for care-experienced people to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment.

Source: Adapted from Hopper, EK, Bassuk, EL & Olivet, J (2009) Shelter from the Storm: Trauma-informed care in homelessness service settings. The Open Health Services and Policy Journal, 2, 131-151.

A person 18 years and older who needs additional care and support by virtue of being in State care or in the care of a faith-based institution, which may involve deprivation of liberty. In addition to vulnerability that may arise generally from being deprived of liberty or in care, a person may be vulnerable for other reasons. For example, due to their:

• physical, or intellectual, disability

• mental health status

• nationality

• race

• ethnicity

• religious belief

• age

• gender

• gender identity

• sexual orientation, and so on.

Source: Clause 17.2(a) Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions Terms of Reference.

A person’s connections, journey and experiences which are the layers that make up their identity, including accurate information on oranga (medical and wellbeing history), whenua (tūrangawaewae or where I have the right to stand), whanaunga (who I’m related to), hinengaro (dialect, language, kawa unique to my hapū).

Source: Adapted from multiple sources, including the following.

• Durie, M. (2001). Mauri ora: They dynamics of Māori health. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

• Lawson-Te Aho K. (2010). Definitions of whānau: A review of selected literature. Wellington: Families Commission.

• Mead, H. M. (2003). Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori Values. Wellington: Huia.

• Mikaere, A. (2006). ‘Whakapapa and taonga: Connecting the memory’. Puna Maumahara: Rōpū Tuku Iho Repositories Conference, Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Ōtaki, 16-17 November 2006. Ōtaki, New Zealand: Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

• Pohatu, T. (2004). Mauri – Rethinking Human Wellbeing / by Taina Whakaatere Pohatu. MAI Review. Retrieved from https://review.mai.ac.nz.

• Walker, R. (1989). Māori Identity. In D. Novitz & B. Willmott (Eds.), Culture and Identity in New Zealand. Wellington: Government Printing Office.

• Walker, R. (2004). Ka whawhai tonu mātou: Struggle without end (Rev. ed.). Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin.