What kind of redress can I expect from the Ministry of Education?

Redress may be in the form of an apology and a payment

The process of making a claim can be challenging. We encourage you to find support that is right for you. 

When the claim reviewer has finished reviewing your claim, they will make recommendations for the Ministry of Education (MoE) to consider.

What they offer will be based on the claim reviewer’s findings, and on the payment amounts for similar claims that have been resolved.

MoE may write you a letter or call you to tell you what their offer is. If you have a lawyer or advocate who made the claim on your behalf, MoE will contact them.

You can choose to accept MoE’s offer or reject it. It is a good idea to get legal advice for you sign any settlement offer. Find out how to get legal advice. 

What you can do if you are unhappy with the outcome of your claim

If you are unhappy with your claim’s outcome (for example, they have not accepted your claim, or you do not accept their settlement offer), you can talk to your Senior Advisor in the MoE Sensitive Claims team, or to your lawyer.  

For example, if your claim was not accepted and you have found more information, you could ask them to re-review your claim with the new information.

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.  

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

Faster settlement payments are available for terminally ill claimants

If you are terminally ill, the Ministry of Education may give you a prioritised (faster) settlement payment.  

They will need to see a medical certificate or other information from your medical specialist, that says you have 12 or months or less to live.

A Prioritised Settlement Payment offer includes:

• a financial payment of $10,000 to settle your claim
• an apology from the Secretary for Education
• reimbursement of any actual and reasonable legal or advocacy fees, if applicable.

Some people can choose to get a ‘rapid payment’

If you are eligible for a rapid payment, you can choose to receive this instead of having to go through a full review of your claim. The amount of a rapid payment will be based on the average payment made under full review.

A rapid payment is currently available if your claim is about Waimokoia/Mt Wellington Residential School.

Payment amounts vary depending on when you attended the school.  

Rapid payments will also be expanded to cover claims about McKenzie Residential School and Campbell Park School when the Ministry of Education completes its research about what happened at these schools.