Response from Te Puna Aonui on progress on implementing 2021 recommendations

Action – Transition from Joint Venture to IEB

The IEB monitors the family violence and sexual violence system, shares insights, and identifies gaps, opportunities, and interventions to realise the shared goal of elimination. Te Puna Aonui business unit supports and facilitates this collaborative effort by providing whole-of-government advice to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence. There are also clear limits; the IEB does not deliver services, does not control the funding of its member agencies, and it is not able to make operational decisions for any of its agencies.

Action – Delegation of responsibilities

In 2020, the government had established a dedicated Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence. This portfolio replaced the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Justice (Family and Sexual Violence Issues), which had been responsible for the Joint Venture.

In 2022, the Public Service Commissioner asked the IEB to grant Emma Powell (as Chief Executive of Te Puna Aonui) designation at Level 2 of the Ministry’s financial delegations policy and human resources policy. At the same time, the Public Service Commissioner also asked the IEB to adopt all corporate policies of the Ministry of Justice and enter into a shared services arrangement. This enabled Te Puna Aonui to operate efficiently by empowering the Chief Executive to make non-governance and non-strategy decisions, and to delegate matters to authorised staff in line with the Ministry’s corporate policies.

In 2023, the Public Service Commissioner removed himself from the IEB and delegated the role of Board Chair to Andrew Kibblewhite as Secretary for Justice and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Justice. The IEB is responsible for delivering Te Aorerekura – the national strategy to eliminate family violence and sexual violence (Te Aorerekura). These decisions have been clearly communicated and all parties understand their mandate.

Action – System monitoring and stewardship

The main way the IEB fulfils this recommendation is via governance and oversight. This includes regular meetings of core Family Violence and Sexual Violence (FVSV) Ministers, regular meetings of the IEB Chief Executives, and a sub-group of Deputy Chief Executives. More recently, with the launch of the second Action Plan (2025-2030), the IEB is creating steering groups to oversee each of the three primary focus areas. In March 2025, the IEB agreed to update its operating procedures to further clarify its responsibilities and mechanisms of accountability. These new operating procedures will be published later this year.

Action – Increasing awareness of Te Puna Aonui

As Chief Executive of Te Puna Aonui, Emma Powell engages extensively with other agencies (both IEB and non-IEB agencies), and with a wide variety of generalist and specialist providers to promote the unit’s kaupapa and increase understanding of her role. This recommendation has also been achieved with engagement at a Ministerial level.

Tangible examples of this were seen at the national hui in 2022 and 2023. Te Puna Aonui hosted these events to showcase the work of Te Puna Aonui and promote collaboration across the sector. These hui created a collaborative environment spanning grassroots to Minister. Reports are on our website: Te Aorerekura Hui 2022 and Te Aorerekura Hui 2023..

Action – Parliamentary scrutiny

The role, authority and function of the business unit are also affirmed when the IEB, business unit and/or Minister participates in the Parliamentary scrutiny cycle (e.g. annual review hearings, Estimates reporting, and annual reports). This creates a feedback loop to explore and articulate what is and isn’t, and what should be or shouldn’t be, within the unit’s sphere of influence or accountability.

Action – Engaging with iwi and hapū

Wāhine Māori and tamariki Māori experience higher rates of family and sexual violence than other groups in Aotearoa. Data also shows that whānau Māori experience violence differently to other groups, particularly due to intergenerational disadvantage (e.g. barriers to access services, higher likelihood of tamariki being taken by the state). This compounds further for Māori who are also part of other population groups that experience disproportionate rates of violence (e.g. tangata whaikaha Māori, vulnerable kaumātua or kuia, and takatāpui).

Te Puna Aonui engaged extensively with Māori to develop Te Aorerekura and the first Action Plan (2021-2023). This included inviting public submissions, offering in-person and online community-led hui, and creating accessible formats. This confirmed significant gaps and barriers for Māori, and this feedback is summarised in the tangata whenua analysis paper.

At a regional level, Te Puna Aonui has relationships with iwi and hapū involved in the delivery of prevention and crisis response services. Many of the current multi-agency responses are led by iwi or hapū who are working constructively with Police and other agencies in their rohe. Te Puna Aonui is committed to nurturing relationships with iwi and hapū across the country to improve outcomes for Māori, including via the second Action Plan.

Action – Te Pūkotahitanga tangata whenua Ministerial advisory group

In 2022, Cabinet established Te Pūkotahitanga advisory group to provide independent advice to the Minister with the goal of improving outcomes for Māori. Key achievements include:

• publishing a literature review on family violence and sexual violence within whānau Māori
• engaging rangahau Māori to develop a Māori-informed theory of change and a draft Māori Outcomes and Measurement Framework (currently being piloted in two locations)
• develop a kaimahi Māori workforce plan to ensure kaimahi Māori can support the needs of whānau Māori (i.e. Māori creating and determining Māori solutions)
• hosting regional wānanga to facilitate discussions amongst kaupapa Māori providers on issues and solutions to family violence and sexual violence.

Action – Development of the first Action Plan (2021-2023)

To develop the first Action Plan, the Joint Venture heard from community organisations and specialist workforces, including Te Ohaakii a Hine – National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together (TOAH-NNEST); Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga – National Network of Family Violence Services (Te Kupenga); the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges (NCIWR); Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA); Male Survivors Aotearoa (MSA); community family violence network coordinators; independent family violence and sexual violence groups and organisations; and tertiary student coalitions against violence.

During 2021, the Joint Venture took part in 24 hui and captured contributions from 416 managers, practitioners, and organisations. Many submissions were received in addition to those generated at the hui. The Joint Venture collated these insights and published a sector analysis paper alongside a series of papers focusing on special population groups. These remain a useful reference for Te Puna Aonui and the public.

The relationships established during this time remain active. For example, the critical friends’ group convened to inform the Outcomes and Measurement Framework (OMF). Many stakeholders also attended the national hui held in 2022 and 2023, and have subsequently informed projects like the workforce capability frameworks (see ‘2023 – Recommendation 6’).

Action – Empowering diverse communities

This recommendation was fulfilled via the first Action Plan under ‘Action 5: Engage and value communities in collective monitoring, sharing and learning’, which was led by the IEB and Te Puna Aonui. To achieve this, Te Puna Aonui provided time-limited grants to representative groups for diverse communities to shape how they engaged on implementing Te Aorerekura. These communities were tangata whenua, disabled people, children and young people, LGBTQIA+ communities, older people, Pacific peoples, ethnic communities, people who use violence, people affected by violence, and the FVSV sectors. Communities used this funding to engage more cohesively and strategically on family violence and sexual violence issues – both within their communities and with government (including to develop the second Action Plan).

Action – Systems Working Group

During the pandemic, Te Puna Aonui swiftly responded to the concerns of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as they dealt with dramatic social change in their communities. Staff played a crucial role in connecting government agencies with NGOs to respond to family violence and sexual violence during lockdowns – a time when families were spending more time together; often without access to their usual supports.

Te Puna Aonui and NGOs co-hosted a weekly online forum for people working in the family violence or sexual violence sectors to share information and discuss emerging issues. This forum successfully demonstrated the value of cross-sector connections (i.e. bringing together government, sector, and community insights). It continues to meet monthly and is now called the Systems Working Group (SWG). SWG meetings are chaired by two representative bodies with support from Te Puna Aonui. They are an opportunity for officials and NGOs to have free and frank discussions about complex system issues and possible solutions

Action – Agreeing ways of working together

In 2024, Te Puna Aonui started shaping a new process for identifying issues and barriers in the family violence and sexual violence system, and designing solutions. This includes formal arrangements with four sector partners. Please see ‘2023 – Recommendation 1’ for more information about the Solutions Design programme.

In 2025, Te Puna Aonui established a steering group and programme management for the ‘Keeping people safe’ focus area in the second Action Plan. The group includes community stakeholders, specialists and tangata whenua. Two other steering groups will be established to support the ‘Investing and commissioning well’ and ‘Stopping violence’ focus areas.

Action – Allocation of financial resources

The Minister is responsible for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence (M104) (A600) appropriation in Vote Justice. Before Te Puna Aonui and the IEB were established, this appropriation was called Reducing Family Violence and Sexual Violence (M104) (A23) and was used to support the Joint Venture. This dedicated resource has increased steadily over the years, as shown below.

Action – Capability and expertise within the business unit

Current employees bring a diversity of experience from the public, private and community sectors, as well as relevant lived experience and/or academic expertise. Targeted recruitment means the unit can secure the right mixture of people effect transformational change.

Te Puna Aonui has matured, learned, and adapted since it was established, and this continuous improvement will endure. In December 2024, Te Puna Aonui implemented a new operating model to make better use of capability across the unit. This changed reporting lines and some roles to deliver new or amended functions.

Action – Harnessing leadership to deepen collaboration

The first Action Plan allocated lead agencies to specific actions. This was designed to build leadership, give agencies responsibilities for change, and maintain clear accountability. The second Action Plan has taken that momentum and adopted a more collaborative model that supports shared accountability. Instead of assigning actions to a single lead agency, the second Action Plan identifies seven focus areas where everyone must work together. There is now joint responsibility for collective change.

Action – Staff within member agencies

During 2022, Te Puna Aonui hosted four workshops for agencies to strengthen collaborative practice. This enabled officials to explore different engagement options and build trusting relationships. This identified a need for more robust succession planning and better handover to ensure relationships are maintained. These are a current focus.

The current structure and resourcing for Te Puna Aonui is appropriate for its system stewardship role and there are processes in place to respond if needs change.

Family violence and sexual violence are stubbornly entrenched issues, and there is always a need for more resources to achieve transformational change – especially with a goal to eliminate that violence. Equally, this solution is not ours alone, and the business unit is currently performing its core duties within the resources available.

Te Puna Aonui acknowledges the recent baseline savings and redundancies across the public sector, and we are mindful of the potential for this to affect member agencies' capacity for collective initiatives. Te Puna Aonui is committed to maintaining cross-government collaboration, and staff continue to work constructively with counterparts across IEB agencies. This collaboration can also create efficiencies.

There are some imbalances between IEB agencies; some have dedicated staff and resources to deliver Te Aorerekura while others have core commitments that need more attention. The IEB is currently strengthening its operating procedures to make sure agencies continue to prioritise Te Aorerekura and the collective efforts of Te Puna Aonui.

Good collaboration can be time consuming. For example, making sure all invested parties get a chance to contribute can be especially difficult during times of high demand and low capacity. Collaboration could be more effectively enabled with centralised document management, shared IT systems, and software to connect staff between agencies. Te Puna Aonui officials can much more readily connect with officials at the Ministry of Justice thanks to these shared systems.