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Safeguarding
Supported decision-making is a key part of safeguarding rights, wellbeing, and safety.
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding people means to:
- Strengthen and protect their rights and well-being.
- Prevent harm, abuse, or neglect from happening.
- Support people who experience harm, abuse, or neglect.
Safeguarding is particularly important for disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori who are:
- not able to remove themselves from harm
- not having their human rights respected
- at risk or experiencing harm, abuse, or neglect.
What are some of the key ideas?
Everyone has a right to:
- Make their own decisions.
- Citizenship and quality of life.
- Safety and well-being.
Safeguarding promotes, protects, and enhances these rights.
Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility. There are layers of safeguards:
- Personal: build people’s capability to make their own decisions, take risks, and have normal opportunities.
- Relationships: help people, families, and whānau strengthen their relationships, support networks, and community connections
- Community: help create inclusive and welcoming communities.
- Services: protect and promote people’s rights.
- System: use legislation, regulations, and policies.
Find out more
“Safeguarding Framework”. external This is a guide to help understand safeguarding.
“VisAble”. external VisAble aims to make sure that all disabled New Zealanders have the support they need to be free from fear and harm.
“Quality and safeguarding”. external This page explains how the Ministry of Social Development is helping to promote safeguarding.
“Citizenship for all”. external This easy-read booklet explains why citizenship is a very important idea.