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Read more about Te Aorerekura - the National Strategy and Action Plan to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

Information from Joint Venture agencies

Cabinet papers and related material

The Government requires Ministers to proactively release Cabinet papers and related information. This policy applies to papers lodged for consideration from 1 January 2019 onwards.

Note: Documents may include redactions for reasons given under the Official Information Act.

Government agencies will build on the work of the Joint Venture, in a new Interdepartmental Executive Board to enable the collaborative responses, clear roles and responsibilities required to deliver Te Aorerekura(external link).

Find the Cabinet Paper and Minute establishing the Joint Venture for Family Violence and Sexual Violence as an interdepartmental executive board(external link)(external link) (available on the Public Service Commission website).

When new governments form, agencies provide information to the new Ministers responsible for their portfolio.

Briefing to the Incoming Minister (BIM) November 2020 [PDF, 1.4 MB]

The role of the Joint Venture and Interim Te Rōpū was to work in partnership to create a national strategy to end violence in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Family Violence and Sexual Violence email updates

The Joint Venture e-update is a bi-monthly email newsletter providing information about our work. Contact us at contact@tepunaaonui.govt.nz to sign up for these updates.

View our latest e-update: Te Puna Aonui 31 August 2022 e-Update [PDF, 562 KB]

Family Violence and Sexual Violence legislation

The Government wants to make sure family violence victims are kept safe and people who use family violence are held to account.

To do this, Parliament passed two major pieces of new legislation: the Family Violence Act 2018 and the Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018. The Sexual Violence Legislation Bill has passed its Second Reading.

The Family Violence Act 2018(external link)(external link) took effect on 1 July 2019, and replaced the Domestic Violence Act 1995.

This Act gives decision-makers working in the family violence system better guidance about the nature and impact of family violence. This is so they can better respond to people impacted by violence and people who use violence. It also:

  • updates the definition of family violence to explain how controlling behaviour can be used over time to frighten a person and undermine their autonomy
  • provides a set of principles to guide decision making and support a consistent, appropriate and timely response for all people
  • names 10 government agencies and a range of social service providers as Family Violence Agencies
  • makes several changes to Protection Orders to improve their effectiveness and protection for people
  • clarifies that a carer can also be in a close personal relationship with the person they care for
  • increases the maximum duration of Police Safety Orders and increases support for people
  • removes legal barriers to information sharing between agencies to increase victims’ safety.

The Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018(external link)(external link) makes changes to the Bail Act 2000, Crimes Act 1961, Sentencing Act 2002, Evidence Act 2006, Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and Care of Children Act 2004.

The changes aim to improve responses to family violence in criminal and civil law, including:

  • ensuring that the safety of victims, including children, is the priority when courts make decisions on bail
  • creating the new offence of strangulation or suffocation
  • making it an offence to force someone into marriage or a civil union in New Zealand or overseas
  • making it a specific offence to assault a family member
  • considering when a Protection Order is in place at the time an offence is committed at sentencing
  • introducing a ‘family violence flag’ to make cases more visible in the system
  • gives family violence offending greater visibility in the court.

This Bill amends the Evidence Act 2006, Victims’ Rights Act 2002, and Criminal Procedure Act 2011 to reduce re-traumatisation that victims of sexual violence may experience when they attend court and give evidence.

Justice Minister is taking this Bill through Parliament. The Bill passed its Second Reading(external link)(external link) on 25 February 2021.

Budget investments 2022

Investing in collective action to eliminate family violence and sexual violence

Through Budget 2022, the Government is continuing to invest in a future where everyone can live free from violence. The Budget 2022 package has been driven by Te Aorerekura – the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

Budget 2022 invests $114.5 million operating funding over four years in primary prevention, community-led responses and improved workforce capability to strengthen community approaches to eliminating family violence and sexual violence.

This funding will make a difference for people across Aotearoa. It ensures that when people reach out for help government agencies, communities and providers will work together to provide safe, caring and respectful responses.

View the Budget on a page [PDF, 262 KB] for an overview of Budget 2022 initiatives.

Read the full Summary of Initiatives for Budget 2022 [PDF, 726 KB] for more information.

Previous Budget investments

View a one-page summary for Budget 2021: Prevention and Leadership below.

Budget 2021 initiatives spend one-pager [PDF, 502 KB]

Budget 2021 initiatives one-page image

The Government is committed to reducing, and ultimately eliminating, family violence and sexual violence. Budget 2021 provides the next steps to transform the system to achieve that.

Budget 2021 allows $131.9 million for family violence and sexual violence funding initiatives to help communities prevent family violence and sexual violence from happening and help those using violence to stop.

Read the full Summary of Initiatives for the Budget 2021 Family Violence and Sexual Violence Package [PDF, 628 KB] for more information.

Budget 2020 focused on family violence service providers. It also invested in services focused on children affected by violence (and their families), reflecting cross-agency advice and initiatives developed by the Joint Venture. This included a joint initiative by Police and Oranga Tamariki, funded from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.

Read the Summary of Initiatives for the Budget 2020 Family Violence and Sexual Violence package(external link) for more information.

Budget 2019 focused on sexual violence service providers. Read the Wellbeing Budget 2019: Family Violence and Sexual Violence Package(external link) for more information(external link) for more for for.

Budget 2018 funded the establishment of the Joint Venture(external link). Following that, most of the funding in 2019 and 2020 has been to stabilise specialist services.

Related resources

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