What support is available for survivors of abuse in care who want their records?

The Survivor Experiences Service can help survivors of abuse in care get their records 

The Survivor Experience Service (the Service) is for people who have experienced abuse in care, and their whānau. People can share their experiences of abuse in care with the Service, and/or get support with receiving and understanding their records.

Learn more about the Survivor Experiences Service.

If you are a survivor of abuse in care (or are supporting a survivor to request their records), you can contact the Survivor Experiences Service and ask for help to: 

• understand which records exist about you
• understand which organisations have records about you
• get copies of your records – they can also request your records on your behalf if you want
• understand the information and explain the language used in your records
• understand why some information may have been redacted (hidden or removed from your copy of the records)
• decide what to do with your records. 

They may ask you some questions to help find your records.

You do not have to share your experiences with the Service, to ask for their help with getting and understanding your records.

The Service will help you complete your registration and then help you with accessing and receiving your records.

Unfortunately, they cannot help with speeding up the process of getting your records.

You can get help from the Service by phone, email, or text  

If you would like the Service to help you with your records, contact them by: 

• phone:
  • from New Zealand, you can phone 0800 456 090 (8:30am – 4:30pm Monday – Friday)
  • from Australia, you can phone 1-800 456 032 (8:30am – 4:30pm NZT Monday – Friday) 
• email records2@survivorexperiences.govt.nz
• text 8328. 

If you are Deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, speech impaired or find it hard to talk, you can use the New Zealand Relay Service.

Find out more about the Records Support serviceopen_in_new.