Victim Support
Free, nationwide support for people affected by crime, suicide and traumatic events.
We are here for you, 24/7.
If you or anyone else is in immediate danger, call emergency services on 111
Prioritise your safety to avoid the possibility of further harm. Choose a safe place to go to and trusted people to be with.
After traumatic events, it's normal to find that you feel more anxious about your safety and others' safety too. Remember, you're not alone - our Support Workers and other community organisations are here to help you to work out the next steps you can take. We want everyone who has experienced a crime or traumatic event to feel safe and supported.
After traumatic events, it's normal to find that you feel more anxious about your safety and others' safety too. Remember, you're not alone - our Support Workers and other community organisations are here to help you to work out the next steps you can take. We want everyone who has experienced a crime or traumatic event to feel safe and supported.
If you or others have been injured, see a doctor, go to a hospital emergency department or call an ambulance on 111 regardless of whether you decide to report the incident or not.
A professional medical assessment can help your recovery and ensure physical safety.
Depending on the incident, consider having the doctor prepare a medical report that can be shared with police, if you are comfortable doing that.
Manaaki Tāngata | Victim Support provides 24/7 free, confidential support to anyone in Aotearoa New Zealand affected by crime and other traumatic events. You don’t need to cope alone. We are here for people who have experienced an incident themselves, for their close family or whānau members, and for witnesses to an incident. We are here for people who choose to report a crime or incident and for those who don’t.
You can call us directly 24/7 on 0800 842 846 or visit our ‘How we can help’ page to find out more about who we are, how we can help you, and how to access our support.
You may qualify for financial assistance under the Victim Assistance Scheme (VAS) which helps victims of serious crime by contributing to costs related to the crime, the justice process and recovery.
For more information you can contact your Support Worker, call us directly on 0800 842 846 or visit our Financial assistance page.
Visit our Financial assistance page to learn more.
After what’s happened the media may want to get comments or interview you, your family, whānau, close friends or any witnesses. Media can sometimes feel demanding and intrusive during stressful times but it’s your decision if you want to speak to them or not and what you feel comfortable sharing.
If you have insurance, make an insurance claim as soon as you can. Your insurance company will explain what you need to do next. It may be making a list of missing or damaged items, keeping any damaged items in case they need to be assessed by the insurer or keeping receipts for the expenses resulting from the incident.
It’s common for insurance companies to investigate this kind of claim. You can help them by remembering and noting down as much as you can about any events leading up to or during the incident.
If you don't have insurance, it can take more time to get back on your feet, but support is available to help you cope through what’s happened.
These situations can seem very unjust and unfair and can cause both grief and trauma. There is an overlap between these two reactions but there are also some differences. Grief is a normal reaction to loss, featuring a range of responses that stem from sadness. Trauma is a normal reaction to an abnormal event, featuring a range of responses that stem from fear and anxiety.
To help them cope through what’s happened, provide a safe and supportive space for children and young people to process their thoughts in their own way and reassure them it’s not their fault.
Family, whānau and friends can suddenly be called on to help someone who is a victim, witness, or has been bereaved by a crime or a traumatic event. Your caring support can help the person feel more able to cope and begin to recover. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do or say and you may be feeling stressed by their situation as well. Being there to listen and taking care of yourself along the way helps.
Family, whānau, and friends can suddenly be called on to help someone who is a victim, witness, or has been bereaved by a crime or a traumatic event. Your caring support can help the person feel more able to cope and begin to recover. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do or say and you may be feeling stressed by their situation as well.
For information on how you can support a loved one after a crime or trauma, see our ‘Supporting others’ page.
Most people find that unexpectedly witnessing a crime or traumatic incident or discovering the aftermath is disturbing and distressing. Even if you weren’t physically harmed you may still be psychologically affected by what you have seen or heard.
Witnesses often experience a wide range of strong reactions including shock and disbelief, fear, horror, helplessness, anger or grief. You may be overwhelmed or perhaps numb and unable to feel anything at first. You may find you're asking yourself if you could have prevented it, done something different, or helped. You may replay the events in your mind and find it hard to stop distressing thoughts and images. It is common to feel guilty that you witnessed or discovered something so major in someone else’s life and that you were physically unharmed.
It is important to recognise that just because you weren’t directly involved, it doesn’t mean you won’t be affected by what happened. We are here for you if you need support.
The police will ask you to detail what happened and to make a statement. If you are comfortable doing that, the information you give will help police with their investigation.
After a traumatic experience, people’s memories can sometimes be a bit foggy or uncertain. Things that happened can seem like a blur. Take your time and do your best to tell the police everything you can remember about the incident.
The police officer will write down or record what you say and will give you a copy of your statement to confirm it’s an accurate report of what happened. If you remember additional details later on, you can get in touch with the police officer looking after the case.
The Investigation
Police will carry out an investigation, which may include additional interviews with you or any other witnesses. They will collect necessary evidence and keep you updated throughout the process. Be aware that investigations can take some time.
Witness Statements
Witness statements and information provided by you or any other witnesses can help investigators and are important for any legal processes later. They can also help those affected by the event, like the families or whānau of anyone harmed, to better understand exactly what happened.
For more helpful information and practical steps on reporting a crime and the police investigation process, visit the Ministry of Justice's Victims Information website.
For many, a ceremonial blessing of the site where a person has died is an essential part of processing the loss. It is an acknowledgement of the spiritual impact of the tragedy on so many people. It commends the spirit of the person who has died and respects and honours the dignity of the deceased person, their family, whānau, and community.
A blessing usually includes a karakia. For Māori, a it can include a clearing of the tapu on the site. Other cultural and faith groups have their own unique approaches to blessing ceremonies.
Some family or whānau members may choose to visit the scene and be part of a blessing ceremony, and others may not. They may prefer to hold a private blessing or open it to whomever would like to come, including from the community.
If you are an immediate family or whānau member wishing to organise a blessing for the site, you could contact your local marae, church or faith centre, cultural leader, the police officer who has been working with the family or whānau, a Police Iwi Liaison Officer, or speak to a Support Worker.
If you don't personally know the family or whānau but witnessed or discovered the death, you can speak to a Support Worker if you'd like to attend a blessing, provided it is open to the public.
Immediate family or whānau members have the option to request viewing and spending time with the deceased person's body at the mortuary, before any post mortem is conducted.
All viewings must be authorised by the office of the duty coroner, as the body remains the responsibility of the coroner until it is released to the immediate family or whānau.
Some hospitals have a family or whānau room for viewing, usually with a screen or window between them and their loved one. The family won’t be able to touch the body or remove items from the body. Certain hospitals may also have dedicated family or whānau rooms where sitting with the body is permitted until its release.
Unfortunately, there are cases where viewing is not possible, particularly when the person has sustained severe injuries. This will be explained to you if this happens.
If you wish, you can also talk to a funeral director of your choice about any other options there are for sitting with or viewing your loved one’s body after it has been released from the mortuary, or about following any specific cultural traditions you need respected at this time.
If you and your family and whānau decide to view the body at any stage, it can help to know that your loved one’s appearance will have changed, including their facial features and skin colour, which is normal after a death but can understandably be unsettling for some people.
Call police on 111 if you’re concerned for the immediate safety of yourself or others, the incident is happening or has just happened, there's serious risk to life or property or there’s an offender there.
If you can't decide if it's an emergency, call 111 and they will help you work out what to do.
If the incident doesn’t need urgent police or emergency services, you're not in immediate danger or you have new information about a case, you can make a report in a few ways:
Phone
Call the police non-emergency number on 105
Online
Fill in a New Zealand Police 105 report
In person
Find your local police station - Talk to the person at the front counter and they will advise you about what to do. If your nearest station is a small or rural station, call 105 to make sure someone is there to help you. You may want to take a trusted person with you for support.
You may consider speaking to someone you trust for advice like a family or whānau member, close friend, community or cultural leader, or local support worker.
You can anonymously report the incident by phone or by submitting an online form to Crime Stoppers.
Court cases can take some time and the experience may be unfamiliar but getting help and knowing what to expect can make things easier. Your Support Worker can assist and support you throughout the process, including helping you navigate the justice system, deal with police and other government agencies, attend a restorative justice conference and write a Victim Impact Statement.
For more helpful information about the court process visit the Ministry of Justice's Victims Information website.
Any sudden death that is unexpected, violent or suspicious will be investigated by a coroner. Coroners are responsible for determining the details surrounding the death, including how, where, when, and why it occurred. This information is important in listing the cause of death on the official death certificate. It is a complex process that can vary according to the different circumstances of the death but is handled carefully and respectfully by those involved.
Advice and information is available from Aotearoa New Zealand embassies in the country concerned and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) can help. They can liaise with New Zealand Police and the country the person died in about the local investigation and justice process.
Official processes required in the country the person died in.
Available local burial or cremation options and any requirements that must be met.
Contact details for funeral directors in that country who could manage the funeral or tangihanga.
How you can bring back the person’s body or ashes (repatriation) to Aotearoa New Zealand.
The immediate family or whānau can ask a funeral director in Aotearoa New Zealand about the options they have for arranging for their loved one's body or ashes to be repatriated (brought back to New Zealand).
If you live overseas but the death of someone close to you has happened in Aotearoa New Zealand, the bereaved family or whānau are able to access some assistance here in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Manaaki Tāngata | Victim Support
Call us 24/7 on 0800 842 846 to be connected to a Support Worker for assistance.
The Ministry of Justice's Victims Information Centre
Find information, advice and support. Contact them here.
Support through the criminal justice system
Look in this directory to find a New Zealand lawyer
Some financial support
ACC may accept a claim for accidental death which would provide financial support to cover some costs when the death of a New Zealander has been confirmed by police as murder or manslaughter. If you're overseas contact ACC on +64 7 848 7400
Your chosen funeral director can do as little or as much as you want them to do. Talk with your funeral director about what you would like, including any cultural or religious rituals you want honoured. Ask them about costs and payment options, so you can make choices that are manageable.
collecting the person’s body from the mortuary and caring for them at their funeral home until burial or cremation
providing information about necessary legal requirements after a death
registering the death and helping families get a copy of the death certificate
explaining how you can bring back the person’s body or ashes (repatriation) to Aotearoa New Zealand.
preparing the body for viewing if the family wishes this and it is possible
fulfilling the family’s choices for the funeral, tangihanga (tangi), or memorial event
checking if the person’s legal will requested certain funeral arrangements
organising cremation or burial procedures that meet necessary requirements
helping families apply for financial assistance, if needed
If you live overseas but the death of someone close to you has happened in Aotearoa New Zealand, the bereaved family or whānau are able to access some assistance here in New Zealand, such as:
WEBFLOW TEST
Call us on +64 4 474 8862 to be connected to a Support Worker (24/7) for assistance
Information from the Ministry of Justice's Victims of Crime Information Centre
Please email victimscentre@justice.govt.nz
Support through the criminal justice system
Look in this directory to find a New Zealand lawyer
If you are experiencing family violence and harm, consider making a safety plan. This is a plan of future actions you can take to keep you and your family and whānau members safe if you feel threatened or are in immediate danger. Everyone’s situation is different; Manaaki Tāngata | Victim Support and other local support services can help you to prepare an individual plan that works for you, when the time is right.
Free 24/7 helpline for counselling support for anyone who is stressed, needs someone to talk to, or is feeling overwhelmed.
Free 24/7 depression helpline and information and resources to help individuals dealing with depression in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Directory of nationwide support providers who can help families and whānau cope with common issues and problems.
Free 24/7 helpline to support the emotional wellbeing of New Zealanders and connect people to support that helps them cope through a difficult situation.
Nationwide directory of GPs, mental health counsellors and services, and information for anyone in need of mental health support.
Helps people who are deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired, and deafblind to connect with support services over the phone.
Counselling, resources, and a specialist support library for children, young people, and adults who are experiencing any kind of grief, loss or trauma, including after a homicide or suicide.
A directory of professional counsellors around Aotearoa New Zealand.
{{emergency-contact}}
A drowning death happens quickly, often within seconds, and can occur offshore, at the beach, in rivers, lakes, pools, or in a natural disaster. Multiple individuals may drown, sometimes from within the same family or group of friends and in some cases it can involve individuals tragically drowning themselves while attempting to save someone else's life.
It is sudden, unexpected, and traumatic for family, whānau, and the community where it occurred, and can be shocking for those who witness it or try to resuscitate or rescue the person.
The search for a missing person's body, which may never be found despite extensive efforts by rescue and dive recovery teams, adds to loved ones' distress. Survivors of such incidents often grapple with intense guilt, feeling they could have done more to prevent the tragedy or struggling with survivor's guilt, making coping and understanding the situation challenging.
The impact of a sudden drowning death is very painful. You don’t have to cope alone, support is available for you.
{{line}}
{{how-we-can-help-v1}}
{{line}}
A drowning death will first be responded to by those at the location, surf lifesavers if the location is at a public pool or beach, and then by emergency services. In some circumstances, specialist search and rescue teams may also be involved in recovering the person’s body. Sometimes family, whānau, friends, and community members may want to be part of the search and police can advise how best they can assist with this.
When a body has not been recovered, the uncertainty and longing for answers can be overwhelming. The stress and anxiety of waiting and wondering where you loved one is can feel unbearable. Media attention on the missing person's case can add to the pressure and stress for the family.
To cope, those who have been through this difficult situation recommend maintaining hope, reaching out to others for support, prioritising your physical and emotional well-being, and establishing a routine and staying busy, especially if you have children.
{{report-incident-emergencies}}
{{report-incident-non-emergencies}}
To investigate, police must ask questions and will speak to any witnesses and those who discovered the death. They are also likely to speak with close family, whānau, and friends of the person who died. After a traumatic experience, people’s memories can sometimes be a bit foggy or uncertain. Things that happened can seem like a blur. Take your time and do your best to tell the police everything you can remember about the incident.
The police may need to conduct a forensic investigation of the site. In this situation, you may need to find other accommodation during this time, which a Support Worker can help you find.
If you’re renting, let your landlord/landlady, or housing agency know as soon as possible that you are unable to return to the property. You can also ask a trusted support person to contact them on your behalf.
{{line}}
{{witnessed-incident}}
{{line}}
Following a drowning incident in the sea, river, or lake, local Māori iwi may place a rāhui on the area to restrict access to the site where it occurred. Police collaborate with iwi who facilitate this customary practice.
A rāhui respects the person who has died and their family or whānau. It is established and lifted through the karakia of iwi elders and tikanga leaders/tohunga and is enforced by the respectful understanding and acceptance of the surrounding community. The area can also be marked with a signpost/pou rāhui for the public.
The rāhui will be set for a certain number of days before being lifted. If you have any questions, you can contact your local police who can seek advice from a Police Iwi Liaison Officer.
The tragic death of someone close to us is always distressing, and when it happens unexpectedly or in some cases violently, it can be even more challenging. We might hear the news from others or have witnessed the person’s death ourselves, and the shock can leave us unsure about what we need to do.
A lot needs to happen within the first few days after a death and many people and agencies become involved. They understand how distressing this time is will support you through it respectfully and with care.
For support with handling practical matters after a loved one has passed away, visit our Support through bereavement page when the time is right for you.
When someone dies in an accident, ACC can provide a range of financial support to the family or whānau of the deceased. This may include helping to pay for the funeral and providing some ongoing financial assistance.
Detailed information can be found on ACC’s financial support after a death webpage or call them on 0800 101 996 if you are in need of assistance with any forms or have any questions.
{{managing-media-interest}}
{{line}}
The sudden death of a loved one can be a massive shock, with no chance to prepare or to say goodbye. It’s hard to make sense of death in these circumstances and you may be asking yourself why? and what if?
Sudden deaths cut across both grief and trauma, so reactions may be intensified and complex. If you were directly involved in the incident yourself, or witnessed it, you may have been exposed to additional trauma. You may be grieving the loss of more than one person in the incident, be supporting others who were seriously injured, or you may have been seriously injured yourself.
On top of your grief, you may be dealing with shock, disbelief, anger, guilt, horror and a sense of unfairness. Sudden deaths often involve the loss of a young person, so there can be a sense of unfairness that their life has been cut short. When a child is killed, parents may feel guilt that they were unable to protect their child.
Sudden deaths may involve an element of violence – the death may have happened in a violent way or the person killed may have sustained violent injuries. It’s normal to replay what you imagine the person’s last moments were like and to imagine their injuries. These thoughts and images can be intrusive and you may feel you can’t stop them. Research shows that these imaginings are often worse than the reality.
{{coping-through-trauma}}
{{line}}
Bereaved children and young people will need ongoing attention, care, reassurance, and loving support from those around them. What they can understand and the questions they’ll ask will depend on their age and stage of development. As children and young people grow and develop, they will respond to their loss in news ways. They may ask new questions sometimes, even years after the death.
{{supporting-children}}
{{supporting-victims}}
{{line}}
Support is here for you when things get tough. You don't have to face it alone. Reach out to these confidential and non-judgmental services to discuss your situation and get the help you need.
{{support-services}}
{{line}}
{{useful-websites}}
{{downloadable-resources}}
