Abuse in care: Ministry of Education website bungle could impact survivors making claims - lawyer

• Senior lawyer worries incorrect advice on government website could have put off survivors of state abuse from claiming compensation
• Ministry of Education had said survivors of abuse later convicted of serious offending were not eligible for redress
• The error was removed after questions from RNZ
• Ministry says it should have been clearer that it's applying the recommended approach ahead of a proposed law change.

A senior human rights lawyer says survivors eligible for compensation for abuse they suffered in state schools could have been put off making claims thanks to a government website bungle.

Lydia Oosterhoff, principal at Wellington firm Cooper Legal, discovered the error on the Ministry of Education's website on Monday. After questions from RNZ on Monday evening, the error was removed.

The site said survivors later convicted of serious sexual and violent offending "will not be able to access" financial redress if they lodged a claim after 9 May, when instead the government is proposing a tightening of the criteria for such people rather than a blanket ban.

"I'm very worried about survivors who approach the ministry and are unrepresented, because the ministry is so uninformed about the legislative changes that it is willing to publish incorrect details on its website," Oosterhoff said.

A section of the ministry website said survivors convicted of serious sexual and violent offending, who were sentenced to at least five years' jail, would not be eligible for financial redress.

"On 9 May 2025, the government announced changes to the redress process," the website said.

"Survivors will still be able to receive wellbeing support and an apology, if appropriate."

Jumped the gun

The government, however, has not announced a move as punitive, although if passed, its proposed law will apply to claims from 9 May.

It has introduced a bill, which passed its first reading in parliament last month and is going through the select committee stage, to change the redress process for survivors of abuse in state care who were later convicted of serious sexual or violent crimes.

The Redress System for Abuse in Care Bill effectively reverses the onus so survivors with such convictions are presumed not eligible for financial redress. They would have to convince an arbiter that they are and that such an award would not bring the redress system into disrepute.

It is estimated about 5 percent of abuse survivors later become serious offenders.

Oosterhoff is critical of the proposed law and the Ministry of Education's incorrect statement on its website.

She said even if the government's bill passed, there was not a blanket ban on financial redress if convicted of a serious offence.

"That's very concerning, because that's incorrect information. It's incorrect in relation to what was announced on 9 May and it's also incorrect in terms of the legislation that is currently before the house."

Abuse survivors represented by lawyers could go to them for advice, but not everyone was in that position, she said.

"We know a large number of survivors go to the ministries themselves, cap in hand, asking for redress for abuse that those agencies subjected them to.

"I'm very worried that these people will be told they've got no avenue for financial redress, which is incorrect."

'Should have been clearer'

Ministry leader for operations and integration, Sean Teddy, said information on its website "should've reflected the government's proposed approach that a new process will apply for survivors who lodged a new claim after 9 May and have been convicted of serious sexual or violent offences and sentenced to five years' imprisonment, unless it is determined by an independent decision maker that receiving financial redress would not bring the system into disrepute".

Teddy said the ministry should have been clearer that it was applying an interim approach, in line with government advice.

That approach means survivors making abuse claims through any government department have to fill out a declaration saying whether or not they had been convicted of such serious crimes, and have been sentenced to five or more years in jail.

If they had, their claims would go on hold until the independent arbiter is appointed, should the proposed law pass.

Oosterhoff said this was problematic, as often survivors would not have ready access to their sentencing records to know the term they were sentenced to.

Instead, they might remember serving, for example, three years, when they could have been granted an early release from a longer sentence.

She said the government's proposal itself was unjust.

The lead minister on the Crown's response to abuse in care, Erica Stanford, has acknowledged differing opinions on the bill, but has said the independent arbiter would make sure any financial redress to survivors convicted of serious offences wouldn't bring the compensation scheme into disrepute.

"This recognises that there are a small number of survivors who were abused in care have also gone on to perpetuate harm to others," Stanford said after the bill passed its first reading.

Oosterhoff said survivors seeking compensation for abuse in state schools would often have attended institutions for people with learning disabilities or behavioural problems, such as the now-closed McKenzie Residential School in Christchurch or Waimakoia Residential School in Auckland, and would generally only be eligible for a few thousand dollars.

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