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This research analyses disciplinary decisions of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal (NZLCDT) from 2011 to 2017 that involve vulnerable clients. Increasingly, scholarship discusses vulnerability as an ethical concept, including in the legal context. Based on published decisions, the present study inquires whether some legal clients' vulnerability warrants special attention. Twenty-five of the 193 clients in the NZLCDT decisions qualified as vulnerable based upon age, gender, mental health/neuro-disability or immigrant status. The results may inform disciplinary bodies and inspire preventive strategies by lawyers, educators and regulatory bodies. Ultimately, this evidence-based analysis magnifies the importance of client-centred approaches to risk reduction in legal practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deidre N. Greig Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London, 2002, 288 pages, pb. Dr Greig, Fellow in the Department of Criminology at the University of Melbourne, explores the complex legal and political [...]

The significant co-occurrence between men’s violence against female partners and child abuse and neglect is well documented. It is less clear how child safety should be managed in family violence research with their mothers. This issue is salient toisafe, a New Zealand–based Internet intervention study testing improvement in safety decisions and mental health outcomes for women experiencing intimate partner violence. This article discusses the legislative, professional, and ethical considerations that contribute to the development of the child safety protocols and discusses the development of theisafeprotocol. Hypothetical scenarios of the application of theisafeprotocol are used to illuminate the issues and provide a basis for future discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Permanent name suppression decisions related to health practitioner disciplinary proceedings can result in debate across various interest groups, including practitioners, the public, the media and complainants themselves. However, there has been no analysis of name suppression patterns, principles and practices in New Zealand since the 2004 legislative reforms under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (NZ) provided for the combined regulation of 21 health professions and established the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) to hear and determine charges relating to those professions. This article reviews health practitioner name suppression debates within New Zealand in light of an exploratory descriptive analysis that was undertaken of 288 published decisions of the HPDT from 2004 to 2014. The study revealed that just under one-half of all cases involved a permanent name suppression application; amongst these, just over one-third were approved. Grounds cited for approving or declining name suppression varied and generally reflected established case law regarding naming principles and the Act’s intent. While the public interest dominated as the most frequently cited reason to decline name suppression, the most frequent justification for granting name suppression was the health and wellbeing of various individuals. The findings have relevance for understanding current trends in name suppression, and whether there are changing practices or differences adopted between health practitioner groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established under New Zealand’s Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 in 2014, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) hears and determines charges in relation to 21 health professions. Using publically available information, an exploratory descriptive analysis was conducted of 288 published HPDT decisions between 2004 and 2014 to assess the procedural factors (practitioner and hearing characteristics) and outcome factors (findings, penalties and appeals) relevant to these decisions. In particular, the study compared the two health practitioner groups (medical practitioners and nurses) with the highest number of decisions. The study found that nurses were significantly less likely to have legal representation or to lodge an appeal than medical practitioners, with nurses also more likely not to attend the hearing, have their registration cancelled and not receive permanent suppression. The study also revealed important characteristics of the decisions that are not contained in the summaries available on the HPDT website. These characteristics provide opportunities for future comparison across and within occupational groups. While relevant to health practitioners, lawyers, professional bodies, employers, educators and policy-makers, the findings also contribute to the international scholarship on professional discipline and tribunal decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In New Zealand, the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 provides diversion for persons with an intellectual disability who have been charged with, or convicted of, a criminal offence. This unique Act moves the responsibility for such ‘care recipients’ from the criminal justice system to a disability sector that values a social model of disability and philosophies of autonomy, choice and normalisation. This research identified dilemmas faced by care managers legally responsible for care recipients. Care managers experienced: tension between imperatives of risk management, rehabilitation and human rights; role ambiguity between ‘custodian’ or ‘therapist’; philosophical incongruity within their services; and ethical dilemmas over decisions to lengthen care orders. The changing care recipient population has intensified these dilemmas: services must now adapt to the needs of young, street-wise people with alcohol and drug problems and histories of criminal behaviour. The article makes recommendations about how these dilemmas can be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the issue regarding elder abuse and the humane care for the elder population. The author looks into the legal cases in New Zealand concerning the prevention of elder abuse in the country. The author also discourses the provisions of the elderly in the context of the Health and Disability Commissioner Act of 1994 and the Positive Ageing Strategy.

Increasingly, patients are asserting their rights through complaints procedures. In this article, New Zealand's approach to consumer rights regarding health and disability will be contrasted with mechanisms in Australia and England, to reveal the common and distinct approaches. As a basis of comparison, a recent opinion of New Zealand's Health and Disability Commissioner will be examined to demonstrate a system that resolves patient disputes without resort to litigation. The consistent theme of the critical analysis is whether the systems achieve patient and consumer satisfaction and how that approach might inform best practice. INSETS: A case study;KEY POINTS;COMMENTARY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]