The Dilworth Trust Board fully accepts and is acting on all nineteen recommendations made in the Independent Inquiry Report into abuse at Dilworth School. An Implementation Dashboard has been established to track Dilworth’s progress against each recommendation. You can access this here.
Dilworth is committed to fully confronting the sexual and other abuse that occurred at our School openly and honestly.
As part of our response, the Dilworth Trust Board (the Board) commissioned an Independent Inquiry to establish an understanding of the causes, nature and extent of the abuse experienced by former students at Dilworth School, the School’s response to complaints of abuse at the time, and the adequacy of the policies and procedures in place at the School today.
The Independent Inquiry Report has now been published and can be accessed here. A summary of the Board’s response to the Inquiry recommendations can be accessed here.
Separately, the Board has established an independent Redress Programme for any former Dilworth student subjected to sexual abuse or serious physical abuse committed by a Dilworth representative, or a person who had access to the former student through a Dilworth Representative. It is also available to any former student who was sexually abused by another student. The estate of a deceased former student who was abused can also apply for redress.
You can read more about both programmes below.
Support is available to all former students who were abused at Dilworth through the following pathways:
Confidential Listening Service: For all former Dilworth students who want to access fully funded professional psychological therapy or support.
Email: [email protected].
Dilworth Redress Programme: To support former students who experienced sexual abuse or serious physical abuse by a Dilworth Representative through various types of redress including financial awards, access to fully funded therapy and psychological support, an apology, and other forms of personalised redress.*
Visit: www.dilworthredress.org.nz.
Alternative support pathways:
The following options are available for former students, their families/whānau and families of deceased former students who are not eligible for redress under the Terms of the Dilworth Redress Programme. To:
Email: [email protected].
Former students who were abused are encouraged to follow the work of the Royal Commission of Inquiry Into Abuse in Care in State and Faith based Institutions and consider making a claim under any resulting government scheme.
The Independent Inquiry Report into abuse at Dilworth School was published on 18 September and can be accessed here.
The Dilworth Trust Board fully accepts and is acting on all nineteen of the Inquiry Report’s recommendations. An Implementation Dashboard has been established to track Dilworth’s progress against each recommendation.
The Inquiry, led by The Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright and Frances Joychild KC, sheds light on events and behaviour that should never have occurred. The Board apologises to all those who suffered abuse while students at Dilworth School, as well as to their families and whānau.
The video below shares more information about the Board’s response to the Inquiry recommendations, including activity that is already underway and future commitments from Dilworth Trust Board, Dilworth School and Dilworth Response.
A message from the Dilworth Trust Board Chairman and Dilworth Headmaster
The Dilworth Redress Programme was launched in August 2022. Former students who have been abused can visit its website to register their interest in making an application for Redress.
The Board appointed former High Court Judge Dame Judith Potter DNZM CBE as Chair of the independent Dilworth Redress Programme Panel (the Redress Panel). Dame Judith is joined by clinical psychologist Professor Ian Lambie ONZM and governance expert Ms Rukumoana Schaafhausen MNZM.
These three independent Panellists will together consider the applications of former students who have been abused and determine their applications for redress. The Board will have no control or influence over the Panellists and will be bound by their decisions including the amount of financial redress to be offered to each eligible applicant.
The Dilworth Redress Programme is supported by a team of Redress Facilitators, skilled in the redress process, who help each former student to prepare an application, and to provide the Redress Panel with all the necessary supporting information. Redress Facilitators are independent of the Redress Panel and the Dilworth Trust Board.
In light of the findings of the Independent Inquiry, the Board has revisited the Dilworth Redress Programme Terms.
The Board has listened to, and acknowledges feedback from survivors and those who participated in the work of the Inquiry that the wording relating to a student who was sexually abused by another student needs to change and be unqualified.
The Board has worked with the Redress Panel to change the eligibility for this type of sexual abuse, by removing the caveats that the abuse occur where “a Dilworth representative failed to take reasonable steps to protect against the potential for that abuse, or where the sexual abuse was encouraged or permitted by a Dilworth representative.” This change will be applied retrospectively to all applications for redress as well as to future applications.
The Board hopes this will make it easier for survivors of this kind of sexual abuse to apply for redress and for their cases to be considered by the Redress Panel. You can read more here.