News

Contact Details of Independent Reviewer Released
2022-04-13

"It has come to our attention that there have been allegations raised in the public domain that are serious in nature. The Arise leadership takes any allegations extremely seriously and has very clear processes, and governance procedures for dealing with any type of complaint raised. Due to these allegations, Arise is undertaking a full and complete response.

In December 2021, the Arise Board approached a New Zealand law firm to conduct an independent HR review. The Terms of Reference and Letter of Engagement was signed on March 16 2022. The review will start after Easter. However, due to the serious nature of some allegations raised, the Arise Board has also now engaged and appointed a separate independent reviewer.

The Board welcomes this full enquiry and is asking those who may have been affected negatively by Arise, staff, or its members to approach the independent reviewer as the correct channel for sharing their experiences."

— Arise Board

How to contact Pathfinding, the independent reviewer:

Email: contact@pathfinding.co.nz
Phone: 0800 274 731
Website: pathfinding.co.nz

Details about the Review Process supplied by Pathfinding:

• The first component of the review will be to open up and manage a channel through which Arise attendees, ministry school students or staff, past or present, can come forward with any concerns they hold. Individuals will be given the opportunity to have their story and concerns heard, and these will be documented. This process will ensure all individuals have been satisfactorily responded to, and processes will be designed to be person-centric, and hold as paramount the needs of any individuals who have been hurt or aggrieved.
• Please note – this will not constitute counselling or a therapeutic intervention but will be centred on understanding the nature of the person’s concerns, establishing what they would like to see happen going forward, and any personal requests they make (for example, meeting with Arise leadership, presenting a letter, receiving an apology).
• Secondly, a review will be conducted of all incidents current Arise staff members are aware of, through their time of employment with Arise. The review will also include cataloguing any past archived information.
• Across these two components of work, themes will be drawn out and a strategy document developed to identify and address the areas requiring attention and action. The reviewer will make clear recommendations about what is included in the strategy document. Time frames will be attached to these remedial actions, the person responsible for tasks will be identified, and measures will be considered where appropriate.
• The final component of the review will be to establish the policies and systems Arise has in place to manage incidents and respond well if a person has experienced harm of any type. Any additional policy and systems work will be undertaken to ensure there are robust systems going forward. A particular focus will be taken on the method through which Arise senior leadership will reflect on incidents and feedback, and to take action to avoid issues recurring.
• Following the completion of the review, a report outlining the recommendations for change and the strategy to address these recommendations will be made publicly available on the Arise website.
• The reviewer will be able to confirm the time frame within which the review will be completed, once there is a clearer sense of how many people are coming forward with stories requiring response and action. Should the reviewer discover any immediate safety and wellbeing concerns for individuals or groups, recommendations will be made with urgency to the Arise leadership.
• Any individuals working for Pathfinding in the capacity of assisting with engaging with people coming forward with their stories are required to hold a membership with an appropriate professional association (for example, the New Zealand Association of Counsellors, or to be a registered health professional under the Health Practitioners Competency Act). This ensures they are held to a Code of Ethics, that they have an appropriate qualification to undertake this work, and that they are acutely aware of the importance of confidentiality and their obligations under the Privacy Act. Engaging health professionals in this work also ensures that the individuals will be familiar with the required processes to report any matters of concern to Police. Professional training and registration clearly establishes the types of matters which must be escalated to authorities.
• Pathfinding staff responding to individual’s stories will all receive external supervision at regular intervals, as required by their professional association membership. This allows for peer review of findings, and ensures there is external critique of the work that is undertaken.
• The process which has been designed for this review, the information the reviewer holds, and draft recommendations will all be peer reviewed by at least two suitably qualified and experienced professionals, with experience in best practice and organisational leadership.
• It is envisaged that the Arise leadership will continue to report against the recommendations strategy document, until such time as all recommendations have been actioned.