National welfare arrangements
National arrangements for welfare in New Zealand
Welfare services support individuals, families and whānau, and communities in being ready for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies.
National arrangements for welfare services in New Zealand are set out in Section 14 – Welfare services of The Guide to the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan 2015.
The Guide contains detailed information regarding the roles and responsibilities of government agencies, non-government agencies, and CDEM Groups for the provision of welfare services across the 4 Rs of emergency management – reduction, readiness, response and recovery.
Welfare Services in an Emergency: Director's Guideline
This guideline supports and expands on the new welfare services arrangements in the National CDEM Plan 2015, and in The New Zealand Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS), 3rd Edition.
The Guideline is intended to be the comprehensive reference for welfare services in an emergency, reflecting the elevated status of the Welfare function in emergency management, and capturing the roles and responsibilities of various welfare services agencies.
The National Welfare Coordination Group (NWCG)
The National Welfare Coordination Group (NWCG) represents a national-level cluster of agencies that are collectively responsible for providing strategic oversight of planning and development of integrated welfare services delivered in an emergency.
The NWCG provides coordination at the national level, and support to Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups at the regional level. The NWCG also ensures that plans are in place to support, at a national level, the coordination and effective delivery of welfare services.
The National Emergency Management Agency chairs and coordinates the NWCG and is mandated to appoint a National Welfare Manager to fulfil this function. As Chair of the NWCG, the National Welfare Manager (or appointed alternatives) reports welfare issues to the National Controller during response. During recovery, the NWCG Chair liaises with the National Recovery Manager.
Member agencies represented on the NWCG are listed in Section 14 of The Guide to the National CDEM Plan 2015. Further responsibilities and tasks of the NWCG are outlined in the Welfare Services in an Emergency Director's Guideline.