Crown Response Office

The Crown Response Office was established in September 2024 to drive the Government’s response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. It sits within the Public Service Commission. The creation of the Office within a central Government agency was a key recommendation by the Royal Commission’s final report. The role of the Crown Response Office is to coordinate, monitor and report on government action to respond to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up by the Government in 2018 to investigate what happened to children, young people and vulnerable adults in State and faith-based care in Aotearoa New Zealand between the years 1950-1999. It ended on 25 June 2024. The Crown Response Office work programme is focused on the Royal Commission's final report Whanaketia, published in July 2024 and the Royal Commissions redress report, He Purapura Ora, He Mara Tipu, published in December 2021. Mr Rajesh Chhana is the Chief Executive of the Crown Response Office. Mr Chhana is accountable to the Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions Minister Erica Stanford.