The Chief Ombudsman says the Ministry of Social Development has failed to justify the amount paid to survivors of abuse in care, describing benchmark payments as "arbitrary and unreasonable".

Peter Boshier has published his final opinion on a complaint against the Ministry by law firm Cooper Legal, which represents more than 1,000 claimants.

The Ministry originally set up the scheme in 2007 as a way of resolving claims from survivors outside of the court system.

"There is no doubt that the claims raised a host of difficult legal, ethical, emotional and financial issues for all of the agencies involved including the Ministry," Mr Boshier says.

"In some respects the Ministry can justify the steps it is taking. However, some aspects of the scheme and the way it is being administered are unreasonable."

Mr Boshier says the Ministry has set a series of benchmarks, which it uses as the basis for offering payments to survivors.

"While the Ministry appears to be adopting a generally consistent approach to the amount it pays, the rates of compensation are arbitrary and unreasonable.

"The underlying benchmarks for payments are low and the degree of harm to an individual claimant is not fully considered when these are assessed.

"I share the concerns of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry about the scheme in this respect.

"To my mind, there is no clear justification for the rates of payment made under this scheme when compared to payments made by the state for other forms of abuse or the compensation paid overseas."

Mr Boshier says participating in the scheme has had profound emotional and financial consequences for claimants.

"It is especially important for the Ministry to give clear reasons for its decisions given their impact. I have found some shortcomings in this regard."

He says the Ministry’s criteria for accepting claims is also too narrow, it fails to undertake a broad and holistic assessment of some claims.

"It’s unreasonable for the Ministry to refuse a claim simply because it can’t find information to substantiate it within its own records. The Ministry must take a broader approach. People should be invited to put their own evidence forward to substantiate an allegation.

"This is particularly important given the Ministry has accepted that abuse is not commonly documented and that its own record keeping practices have been poor."

Mr Boshier says there also must be a simple way for claimants to seek a review when a claim is refused particularly when they can point to information that suggests the outcome is wrong or unjust.

"The Ministry must also make clear when any settlement is reached, a claimant has the right to seek an independent investigation of its approach by the Ombudsman," Mr Boshier says.

Mr Boshier says he acknowledges the Government is working on a new redress system in response to recommendations made by the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry.

"However, I believe there are things the Ministry can do right now to make it fairer for people who have already made claims.

"The Ministry should use my findings as a basis to make improvements to its current processes and they should also be considered in the design of the new redress system."

Read the Chief Ombudsman's Final Opinion : https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources/ministry-social-developments-processes-considering-claims-abuse-care

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