The Navigator Service — a survivor-led pilot programme to support the continued mental health and wellbeing of Dilworth survivors is launched.
This is for two reasons. The first is that the Programme will be run by Better Blokes whose focus and expertise is supporting male survivors of sexual abuse.
Secondly, as this is a two year pilot and the first Programme of its kind in Aotearoa New Zealand, it will begin by serving former Dilworth students living in New Zealand who are survivors of sexual abuse that occurred while they were at school so it can be properly tested and refined. Starting small helps avoid over extending the service before its demand is fully understood.
Better Blokes is the Auckland branch of Tautoko Tāne Male Survivors Aotearoa that operates in New Zealand – it does not have an international arm. Setting up an offshore service would require very careful planning and resourcing. While it might be considered in the future, the first task is to get the Programme up and running in New Zealand where most survivors live.
Better Blokes and Tautoko Tāne’s area of focus and expertise is in supporting survivors of sexual abuse. It is not a service that has been established with a primary focus of physical abuse or bullying.
We acknowledge that the Navigator Service two-year pilot is limited to Dilworth survivors of sexual abuse. Our aim is on setting up a service that is safe and valued by those it is qualified to serve.
Yes.
In June 2025, over 200 survivors who had completed their Redress Programme were invited to join a survivor reference group. Those who expressed interest were sent an early draft of the Navigator Service design in September 2025, and their feedback played an important role in shaping the programme.
Better Blokes highly values the privacy of all their clients. Survivors sign a confidentiality form during registration, and all information is stored in a secure electronic database system called Exess. This database is held in high regard throughout the social services sector. Only two senior staff within Better Blokes have access to the database. Any physical documentation is locked securely within the Better Blokes office.
During the registration process, Better Blokes shares its complaints procedure, further enhancing the safety of each client throughout their wellbeing journey.
The Navigator Service will run as a two-year trial starting in March 2026, with the goal of continuing long-term and potentially expanding in the future. All stakeholders involved care deeply about its success. The programme will be regularly reviewed by an external evaluator and improved based on survivor participant feedback.