How do I make a claim of abuse to the Ministry of Education?

Make your claim by completing a claim form

To make a claim, download and complete the Ministry of Education’s claim lodgement formopen_in_new.  

You might want someone to help you complete the claim form or to fill it out on your behalf. If you have a lawyer or professional advocate you can ask them to help.  Learn where you can find legal advice. We also have other suggestions of where to find support during this process.

If you do not have access to the Internet, you can call the Ministry of Education’s Sensitive Claims team (MoE Sensitive Claims) for free at 0800 663 252. They can post you a copy of the lodgement form or assist you to fill it out over the phone.    

The claim form asks for details about your claim (for example, what school your claim is about and when you were a student there). MoE Sensitive Claims uses these details to help them find records about you. 

If you want help filling out the form or if you have questions about the process, you can ask the MoE Sensitive Claims team. 

Contact MoE Sensitive Claims by:

• email: Sensitive.Claims@education.govt.nz   
• freephone (within NZ): 0800 663 252  
• post to:   

Sensitive claims 
Ministry of Education   
PO Box 1666   
Wellington 6140.

Email or post your completed form to MoE Sensitive Claims

Email your completed claim form and a copy of photo ID to MoE Sensitive Claims at Sensitive.Claims@education.govt.nz.    

If you are in prison, you can post it to them at:

Sensitive claims 
Ministry of Education   
PO Box 1666   
Wellington 6140

MoE Sensitive Claims accepts these types of ID

Unless you are making a claim through your lawyer, MoE Sensitive Claims will ask for you to include a copy of your ID with your form. Types of ID they accept include:

• your birth certificate
• your driver license 
• your New Zealand passport or firearms licence (either current or expired up to two years)
• your New Zealand citizenship certificate or
• your New Zealand certificate of identity
• your Personal Identity Profile, if you are in prison.

If you make a sensitive claim, you should be offered a copy of your records

On the claim formopen_in_new, there is a box you can tick if you want to receive a copy of your records.  

If you do not tick the box when you first fill in the form, you can change your mind and ask for your records at any time.  

Learn more about requesting your records after you have made a sensitive claim.  

Someone else can act on your behalf

You can decide to have someone else act on your behalf for your claim, for example, a lawyer, advocate, or support person. This means they will be the main contact person for your claim with the MoE and will have access to your personal information.

This person should be someone you trust, who will act in your best interests and involve you in making any important decisions about your claim.

To give someone authority to act on your behalf, complete the Authority to Act form (84 KB, Pdf) and send it to MoE Sensitive Claims by:

• email: Sensitive.Claims@education.govt.nz 
• post to:    
  Sensitive claims 
  Ministry of Education   
  PO Box 1666   
  Wellington 6140 

If you have a lawyer or professional advocate, MoE may pay their fees 

The Ministry of Education will pay the actual and reasonable legal fees and/or professional advocacy fees if you have a lawyer or professional advocate representing you. This applies whether you are paying for a lawyer yourself, or using a legal aid lawyer.

Find out more about getting legal advice when you are thinking of making a claim.

If you have questions about support to access legal advice, contact the MoE Sensitive Claims team.

It is not possible to make a sensitive claim on behalf of deceased whānau

However, if your whānau member made a claim before they passed away, you can continue their claim on their behalf.  Any settlement payment they receive will become part of their estate.