53856 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education

53856 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education: How does, if at all, the Ministry of Education triage sensitive claims (formerly called historic abuse claims)?

Hon Erica Stanford: The Ministry of Education (the Ministry) process to triage a sensitive claim is as follows: • a completed claim lodgement form is received (this can be done via telephone call) • the claim information is loaded into the sensitive claims database • the claim is assessed against the Ministry’s sensitive claims eligibility criteria • an acknowledgement letter is drafted, reviewed, approved and sent to the claimant. The Ministry of Education prioritises sensitive claims due to age or ill-health, where a claimant is over 70 years of age or where the claimant has significant health issues and can provide medical documentation to support this. Claims that fall into one of these criteria are moved to the top of the sensitive claims queue.