If a government, faith-based, or other organisation has offered you redress, they will give you some documents to read. One important document is the settlement agreement (also called a settlement offer).
The settlement agreement is a legally binding document. You can sign it if you have read it, understand what is in it, and want to agree to the offer.
Below are some terms you might find in a settlement agreement.
When a written or verbal statement made during in settlement negotiations is marked as ‘without prejudice’, it means the statement cannot later be used as evidence in court.
This means that the organisation offering you payment or compensation is doing so without accepting responsibility or fault.
This clause says the redress offer resolves the claim fully and finally. If you sign the settlement agreement, it means you agree not to make any further claims about the matter.
If you received a ‘full and final settlement’ from a government redress scheme before 9 May 2025, you can still apply for the top-up payment. But they will not offer you any money towards legal fees for applying for the top-up. (Top-ups are managed by the Crown Response Office rather than the government redress scheme providers)
If you have accepted a settlement or ex gratia payment from MSD Historic Claims, you may be able to make a second claim or ask for the existing claim to be revisited. MSD Historic claims may accept a second claim or revisit a settled claim if you have new information or allegations that they have not already looked into.
Whether you will receive another payment, will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
This means that if you sign the settlement agreement, you agree that you will not be able to take the organisation to court about the matter, to sue them for compensation.
The settlement agreement may have a clause requiring you to get independent legal advice about the offer. The organisation may offer to contribute to the costs of a lawyer, although it may not be enough to cover the full costs.
You can get free general legal advice about your options, from your nearest community law centre. Or you may be eligible for legal aid, to help pay for a lawyer who can give you advice specific to your situation. Learn more about when and why you might get legal advice.
Even if the settlement agreement does not have an independent legal advice clause, it is important that you do not sign the settlement agreement right away. Have someone go through it with you first, who can explain anything you don’t understand. You could have a lawyer do this, or someone you trust who is not a lawyer.
Here, we explain the settlement documentation that you can expect to receive from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) Historic Claims or the Ministry of Education Sensitive Claims.
If you made a claim with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) Historic Claims, they should give you:
The settlement offer letter might tell you what abuse the redress is for or how long you were in their care, what the settlement offer is, and what you do to receive the redress (for example, sign the settlement agreement, provide a bank account number).
The settlement agreement is a formal document that says you have agreed to the redress offered by the Ministry of Social Development.
It is a good idea to have someone you trust read it with you and explain anything you don’t understand. MSD will pay up to $400 towards the cost of a lawyer who can explain it to you.
You can read MSD's guidance for settlement documentsopen_in_new (PDF, 372KB)
If you made a claim with the Ministry of Education Sensitive Claims and they accept it, they should phone you to:
They should send you:
If you made a redress claim through your lawyer, then your lawyer will receive the phone call and documents.
If the Ministry of Education Sensitive Claims team has your email address, they should also send these by email.
If you accept their redress offer, you sign the settlement agreement and send it back to them.
You can read the Ministry of Education's guidance on settlement documentsopen_in_new (PDF, 351KB)
You do not have to sign the settlement agreement if you do not want to accept an out-of-court redress offer. If you do not accept the offer, you could:
If you do one of these and are unhappy with their response, you can get legal advice from a lawyer about your options.
This might include:
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