Government Shelves Project Whetū, Leaving Family Violence Agencies Without Shared Case Management System

The fallback that officials have named for tracking family violence cases across government agencies is an Excel-based form. In the words of the documents, it is "the only affordable" option, meaning the only one that costs nothing. That detail comes from papers released under the Official Information Act and obtained by RNZ, which describe how a planned shared case management system called Project Whetū came to be shelved.

The project was proposed by the Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention. It was meant to change how agencies share information safely and appropriately when they respond together to family violence. The planned platform would have supported more coordinated and timely multi-agency responses, made children more visible so that appropriate support is in place, improved data security, and alerted staff to high-risk situations.

In December 2025 the executive board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence decided to pause it. The documents give the reason as there being no practicable or sustainable way to fund, host and operate the platform. By then $2m had been spent over two years. The board approved about $5.2m being returned to the Crown.

Agencies are carrying on with existing systems in the meantime. Officials say they are exploring contingencies, including the Excel form, and acknowledge it has pros and cons. They also set out the risks of the status quo. Without a fit-for-purpose integrated case management system, agencies lack a shared view of the information needed for effective triage and risk assessment. They continue to rely mainly on manual processes, which the documents say constrains efficiencies and reduces the potential return on investment. And there are vulnerabilities in data security and information sharing.

Karen Chhour, Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence, said that only the technology component is on pause. She said she had been assured that the non-technical parts of the best practice operating model for multi-agency responses continue to progress, including the high-risk protocol and information sharing guidance. In her statement, the decision to pause has not resulted in any reduction to frontline services. She said the decision will be reviewed, and that if a practical or sustainable way to host and operate the platform is found, the technology piece could resume. That, she added, is also subject to any directives from the Government Chief Digital Officer. The documents likewise say it could restart if funding prioritisation allows.

Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen called the decision "an absolute shocker". She said the Government is scrapping a project designed to help agencies identify people at risk of family violence even though officials warned that without it, vital information cannot easily be shared. When agencies cannot join the dots, she said, people at risk can fall through the cracks, with devastating consequences. She said the Government should be strengthening the response and needs to explain why it is walking away.

What to watch is whether the promised review happens, whether funding is ever prioritised for the platform, and whether the Government Chief Digital Officer weighs in on how it could be hosted. Until then, agencies are working without the shared view that officials themselves say effective risk assessment requires.