Vine Quick Reads: 29 May 2026

Vine Quick Reads: 29 May 2026

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

Overseas Adoptions Legislation Bill open for submissions

The Justice Select Committee is calling for submissions on the Overseas Adoptions Legislation Bill. The bill (view here) would repeal the Adoption Act 1955 and replace the Adoption Amendment Act 2025, and:

• set out the circumstances in which an application for an adoption order could be made to the Family Court
• set limitations regarding citizenship, visas, and entry permissions on overseas adoptions that are not adoptions under the Hague Convention
• create a process by which a country may become designated as having sufficient safeguards surrounding international adoption, opening pathways for entry into New Zealand under the Immigration Act 2009

For an overview of the changes and process maps for New Zealand’s recognition and implementation of international adoptions, see Nicole McKee’s media release.

Consultation closes Tuesday, 23 June 2026.

Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill open for submissions

The Social Services and Community Committee is calling for submissions on the Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill. The bill would change the definition of “intimate visual recording” within the Crimes Act 1961 and the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 to include images that are created, synthesised, or altered to appear to be intimate visual images. For more, see media coverage from RNZ and Stuff.

Consultation closes Friday, 19 June 2026.

Kaupapa Māori guide to responding to stalking & coercive control released by Auckland Women’s Centre

The Auckland Women’s Centre (AWC) has released Recognising and Responding to Stalking and Coercive Control: A Kaupapa Māori resource guide for whānau Māori experiencing stalking and coercive control (2026). The guide was commissioned by AWC, written by Tū Tama Wahine o Taranaki and reviewed by wāhine Māori with lived experience of being stalked.

Family Violence and Sexual Violence Advisory Group announced

The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence has announced the appointees to the new Family Violence and Sexual Violence Advisory Group. The members of the new Advisory group are:

• Debra ‘Debbs’ Murray (Chair)
• Matthew ‘Matt’ Brown
• Petter Anthony ‘Tony’ Chamberlain
• Caroline Herewini
• Patricia ‘Trish’ McMurtie
• Chrystal Walker

Netsafe launch Digital Guardian Guide, new resource for staying safe online

Netsafe has launched their Digital Guardian Guide, a resource and knowledge hub designed to help parents and guardians keep young people safe online. The guide contains practical age and stage-specific advice and resources, including downloadable resources, interactive tools, podcast series, and over 200 pages of information and advice. The resources are grouped into collections, such as ‘Preparing for a first device,’ ‘Learning about chatting and online relationships,’ and ‘Responding when something doesn’t feel right.’ For more, see Netsafe’s media release.

Children’s Monitoring Group release explainer, ‘Making the online world safe for children’

The Children’s Monitoring Group (CMG) have released Making the online world safe for children. The explainer, which calls for recognition of children and young people’s participatory rights online, covers four questions:

1. How can we make the online world safe for children?
2. What are children saying about the digital world?
3. How do children’s rights apply in the online world?
4. What needs to happen now to keep children safe online?

The explainer responds to growing calls, internationally and domestically, for a social media ban on those under the age of 16. For a summary, see the CMG’s media release, Experts urge government to go beyond a ban to build effective online safety law for children. For media coverage, see Stuff’s story.