Vine Quick Reads: 13 March 2026

Vine Quick Reads: 13 March 2026

Welcome to our Quick Reads format. Each week we share selected news bites relevant to family violence and sexual violence in Aotearoa.

This week we continue our new ‘Spotlight On’ feature. Each week for the next few months the Spotlight will shine on a different area of our website. We hope you will take a moment to learn more about the resources available through our mahi at Vine.

New Netsafe Cyberbullying Prevention Toolkit

Netsafe has released their new Cyberbullying Prevention Toolkit. The free Toolkit provides teachers with ready-to-use, research-informed resources for Years 5-13 to prevent and respond to online bullying. Developed with input from educators and young people, the Toolkit aims to strengthen wellbeing, empathy and digital citizenship. It includes topics tailored to different age groups like noticing cyberbullying and responding safely (Year 5-6) and power, influence and online behaviour (Years 11-13).

Aroturuki Tamariki releases Experiences of Care in Aotearoa 2024/2025

Aroturuki Tamariki | Independent Children’s Monitor has released their annual 2024/2025 Experiences of Care in Aotearoa report (2026), which examines whether agencies with child custody and care responsibilities are complying with the National Care Standards Regulations. Oranga Tamariki acknowledged the report’s findings in a media release, which said the agency was still failing to meet the minimum standards of care demanded by law. See also the Monitor’s media release and responses from Mana Mokopuna | Children’s Commissioner and VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai.

EOIs open for Whakamanawa 2026 | The National Social Services Conference

Social Service Providers Te Pai Ora o Aotearoa (SSPA) is seeking expressions of interest for the workshop programme at Whakamanawa 2026. Workshop topics can cover any area relevant for the social services sector, including child and family support, family violence prevention, sexual violence prevention, housing, rangatahi, disabled people, rainbow communities and kaimahi hauora. More information can be found at Whakamanawa 2026 or you can contact the organiser with your questions directly at communications@sspa.org.nz. Submissions close 10 April 2026.

Consultation open on Data and Statistics (Census) Amendment Bill

The Justice Select Committee is seeking public feedback on the Data and Statistics (Census) Amendment Bill. The Bill would change the approach Stats NZ takes to censuses, moving from a large-scale survey of New Zealand’s total population to using administrative data as the primary source. With the change, survey data would be used more sparingly and supplementarily. See this article from The Conversation for analysis of how the changes may impact Māori data sovereignty. The closing date for submissions is 15 April 2026.