Survivor Experiences Service

What Survivor Experiences Service does

The Survivor Experiences Service (SES) is a New Zealand Crown entity established in July 2023 as a transitional service between the closure of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry and the establishment of a new independent redress system. It provides free, confidential support to survivors of abuse in state, faith-based (including Catholic institutions, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Exclusive Brethren), and other forms of care (private schools, NGOs), and to their whānau. The service is structured around two core functions: private sessions in which survivors share experiences of abuse in care (face-to-face, virtual, or written), and records support to help survivors request and interpret their care records. These are supplemented by short-term wellbeing support (up to six sessions of counselling, therapy, art therapy, or massage/mirimiri), a contact and support centre, Kaitakawaenga cultural liaison services, and accessibility resources in NZSL, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, and Braille formats across at least eight languages.

Service delivery is non-proprietary and human-mediated — there is no underlying technology platform beyond a public website, telephony (NZ 0800 456 090 and AUS 1-800 456 032), SMS, email, postal mail, the NZ Relay Service, and the Corrections Prisoner Telephone System. Cohort-specific pathways are maintained for Māori, Pacific Island, Deaf/NZSL, Disabled, LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+/Takatāpui, rangatahi (18+), and survivors in prison survivors. The service publishes Quarterly Insights Reports aggregating anonymised survivor experience data to inform the future permanent redress system.

The business model is government appropriations: the service is fully funded by the New Zealand Crown as part of the Crown Response to the Royal Commission, with no fees charged to survivors or any third-party payers. It is governed by an independent Board including survivor Co-chairs (Eugene Ryder and Moeapulu Frances Tagaloa) and reports to the Lead Coordination Minister. Operating geographies are New Zealand and Australia. Headcount is approximately six employees across four teams (Contact Support and Records, Private Sessions, Relationship Leads, Planning and Reporting), led by Executive Director Polly Martin (appointed July 2024 from the Crown Response Office).

Name

Survivor Experiences Service

Legal name

Survivor Experiences Service

Website

https://survivorexperiences.govt.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Survivor Experiences Service is a New Zealand Crown entity, established July 2023, providing free confidential support — private sessions, records support, and wellbeing referrals — to survivors of abuse in state, faith-based, or other care, and to their whānau, across New Zealand and Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Survivor Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Hospice-Affiliated/Independent) (HLADAHAL), Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO)

Keywords

• Abuse survivor support
• Care records assistance
• Wellbeing counselling services
• Maori cultural liaison
• Government victim support

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government-funded service delivery: The Survivor Experiences Service is a New Zealand Crown entity providing free support services to survivors of abuse in care. It is funded by the New Zealand Government as part of the response to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. The service offers two free services: sharing experiences of abuse in care and records support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Survivor Experiences Service provides free, survivor-led support to people who were abused in state, faith-based, or other forms of care in New Zealand, and to their whānau. Its two core functions are (1) Private Sessions where survivors share their experiences face-to-face, virtually, or in writing with trained facilitators, and (2) Records Support helping survivors request, receive, and understand their care records. Short-term Wellbeing Support (up to six sessions of counselling, therapy, art therapy, or massage/mirimiri) is offered alongside culturally tailored Kaitakawaenga liaison services for Māori and Pacific communities.

Product overview

The Survivor Experiences Service is a government-funded service for survivors of abuse in state, faith-based, or other forms of care. It operates as a unified service offering two core functions: (1) Private Sessions for sharing experiences of abuse in care, and (2) Records Support to help survivors access their care records. The service is supplemented by Wellbeing Support (up to 6 counselling/therapy sessions), Contact and Support Centre for initial engagement, Kaitakawaenga services for Māori survivors, and comprehensive Accessibility Resources in multiple formats (NZSL, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, Braille). The service also provides a Pre-registration Form for potential survivors to register their interest.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Private Sessions (Sharing Experiences) Confidential private sessions enabling survivors of abuse in state, faith-based, or other care to share their experiences with trained facilitators in face-to-face, virtual, or written formats at locations of the survivor's choice.
• Records Support Support for survivors of abuse in care to request, receive, and understand their historical care records, including navigation assistance with organisations that may hold records, provided free of charge.
• Wellbeing Support Short-term wellbeing support for survivors, including up to six sessions of counselling, therapy, art therapy, or massage/mirimiri, plus other meaningful short-term support to help with the impacts of sharing experiences or receiving records.
• Contact and Support Centre Initial contact point via phone, text, email, or post where survivors register with the service, receive information, and get help organizing support and referrals to partner organisations.
• Kaitakawaenga Services Māori cultural liaison service where a kaitakawaenga leads the private session and the survivor directly shares their experience, incorporating te ao Māori principles and supporting Māori survivors whose whakapapa, identity, belonging and oranga are central to healing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Service established July 2023, first Quarterly Insights Report released covering July 2023-March 2024

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and supporting.

• Department of CorrectionscoreOthersThe service needs to engage with Corrections to arrange face-to-face private sessions with incarcerated survivors. Survivors must verbally consent on the phone for the service to visit. Only name, PRN or DOB, and prison location are shared between the service and Corrections.
• NZ Relay ServicecoreTechnology or IntegrationDeaf, deafblind, speech impaired or those who find it hard to talk can use the New Zealand Relay Service (nzrelay.co.nz) to contact the service. This enables accessibility for survivors who cannot use standard phone channels.
• Voyce Whakarongo MaiimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe service maintains relationships with Voyce Whakarongo Mai for supporting rangatahi (young) survivors. Voyce is referenced as a key partner for youth services and NGO connections.
• KōnaesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral resource for additional support on accessing records. Kōnae (konae.org.nz) provides supplementary resources for survivors seeking care records.
• ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation)supportingOthersWhile not a formal partnership, ACC Sensitive Claims Helpline (0800 735 566) is referenced as an external support service. The service connects survivors to ACC for long-term support beyond the service's short-term offerings.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children): New Zealand Crown entity responsible for the wellbeing of children and young people, with significant overlap in cohort (youth in care) and government Crown entity structure serving vulnerable populations.
• Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC): New Zealand Crown entity providing comprehensive accident injury support, including the Sensitive Claims pathway for mental trauma. Comparable as a Crown-funded survivor support and rehabilitation entity, and referenced as an external referral destination for SES.
• Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority): New Zealand government entity providing culturally responsive health services for Māori. Comparable in its Māori-led cultural framework and Crown entity structure, with overlapping population served by SES.
• Ministry of Social Development (MSD): New Zealand government ministry providing social services, benefits, and community support across the country. Comparable as a major Crown social services provider serving overlapping vulnerable populations.
• Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand): New Zealand's national health service entity, providing a comparable scale of Crown-funded health and social support delivery across the country.

Others

• Kōnae: New Zealand NGO supporting people to access records from state and faith-based care, referenced as a partner resource by SES. Directly comparable in records support function.

Direct peers

• National Redress Scheme (Australia): Australian government redress scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, established following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Most directly comparable to SES in mission, regulatory mandate, and survivor-of-institutional-abuse focus.
• Find & Connect (Australia): Australian government service helping people who grew up in institutional care access their personal history records and connect with support services. Closely comparable to SES's records support and historical abuse survivor focus.

Emerging players

• Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Canadian federal body that documented the history and lasting effects of the Canadian residential school system on Indigenous peoples. Comparable as a government-mandated truth and healing process for institutional abuse survivors.

Regional players

• Whāngaia Ngā Pā Harakeke (Māori suicide prevention community programme): Māori community-based wellbeing initiative. Comparable in culturally responsive, community-led support model for Māori facing trauma — relevant as a parallel culturally-grounded service in NZ.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/survivorexperiencesservice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/survivor-experiences-service

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Survivor Experiences Service