Victim Support facing fresh scrutiny over claims of 'toxic' and 'bullying' workplace culture

The country's lead agency supporting victims of crime and trauma is facing fresh scrutiny over claims of a "toxic" and "bullying" workplace culture, four years after an investigation into similar allegations.

RNZ has spoken to several current and former staff who have raised concerns about the culture at Victim Support. One staff member described the workplace as a "very unsafe environment".

In response, the agency's chief executive James McCulloch said the agency "does not accept that these claims reflect Victim Support today".

The Chief Victim's Advisor said she's "deeply troubled" by staff saying that the agency is unsafe, adding she's aware of a number of NDAs between staff and the organisation which she describes as "concerning".

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Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice said it's aware of recent concerns raised about the agency, and has sought further information and is assessing the matters "in line with contractual obligations".

The Minister of Justice said he will be "kept up to date on the situation".

One of the staff members, said one of their main concerns was around the senior leadership team and how they felt there was no opportunity for staff to ask questions or challenge anything in a "safe way".

"I think it's a very unsafe environment… I think people are really reticent about being honest in any engagement survey."

The staffer said there were "major concerns" among staff.

In 2021, the agency hired an independent investigator to look into allegations of bullying, bad training and delivery failure.

The full report was not released. However, RNZ earlier reported that a summary of the report said while the report did not find widespread bullying at Victim Support, there were regions where reports of bullying and unreasonable behaviour by a direct or senior manager were "very high".

The report did not find definitive findings of bullying because its writer could not put allegations to managers for response without exposing who the complainants were.

In any case, the report found the behaviour of two managers so bad it would have warranted further action, had they not left the charity before the report was finished.

The staffer believes there needs to be another review.

Former staff speak

A former staff member who left the agency earlier this year says her position became "intolerable".

She said she was prevented from doing her job correctly, and was called into a meeting with her manager to address some "serious issues" with no warning.

"The list was all the times I had questioned the support needed for my clients which I had been giving for the past 12 years. I continued to receive complaints from Police and court victim advisors, I urged them to make their feelings known to Victim Support and Ministry of Justice which they did."

She eventually resigned, saying she was suffering mentally from what she was going through at work.

Another of the former staffer's colleagues had recently signed an agreement not to speak about her bullying, she said. She said she was aware of several active personal grievances.

The former staffer said the issues "all begin when you start questioning best practice guidelines. In my view and numerous others, it is not victim-focused."

Another former staffer, who left in 2024, said there were "massive concerns around a very long, historic culture of bullying, toxic behaviour and really poor HR processes".

The former employee emailed McCulloch in 2022, shortly after he started at the agency, to say it was "pleasing to see that the core of the septic and festering mess at the root of VS may finally be addressed".

"It is a long time overdue.

"So many good staff have been lost and traumatised while this behaviour has been excused or ignored."

They then listed examples of alleged bullying and poor management.

McCulloch replied by saying that he felt that ensuring high quality and ongoing training and development for all managers was important.

"This is rarely an overnight fix, but in my experience it is a crucial part of us having the work culture we all need, and deserve!"

The former staffer said that after receiving McCulloch's reply they thought that things would get addressed and would be different.

However, about two years later she resigned because she felt nothing had changed.

She said there was a "toxic" workplace environment.

"Going to work and feeling really elevated and anxious, and like biting your nails, and feeling like all that adrenaline and stuff, because of the way things were getting dealt with, or not getting dealt with, because of office environments, like people who wouldn't talk to you, because they were mad at you, and they were meant to be your line manager."

Staff 'broken'

Victims advocate Claire Buckley told RNZ she had multiple concerns about Victim Support.

Buckley, who applied for the role of CEO when McCulloch got the job in 2022, said her concerns include the structure of the organisation, as well as feedback she was receiving from staff.

"There's quite a bullying culture. There's a lot of staff who start working for Victim Support, you know, with social work degrees and things like that, who believe that they're there to do some good and end up bullied out of the job," she said.

"I know so many staff that are just bullied, and for one reason or another, either haven't been able to leave, or when they have left, have just been broken."

Buckley said she routinely has Victim Support staff reach out to her.

"Either through word of mouth or other ways, they get in touch with me, and they say, I've just left working for Victim Support.

"I've got someone who just left three months ago, and she said, I don't know if I can get another job yet, because I feel so bullied."

Buckley believes the tender process needs to be open to the public for another organisation to put in a bid.

"Victim Support just get their contract renewed every year without contest, and to me it's like, no, you should put that out. Could another organisation actually be doing this better, or in a different way?"

Victim Support responds

RNZ sent a summary of the concerns raised by the current and former staff to Victim Support.

In a statement to RNZ, McCulloch said the agency "does not accept that these claims reflect Victim Support today".

"Every day, our people support victims of crime and traumatic events, their whānau and witnesses, often at some of the hardest moments in their lives. That work matters deeply, and victims deserve the safest, most consistent and most professional support possible.

"Caring for our people and delivering strong support for victims are not separate things. They depend on each other."

McCulloch said the agency's focus was on making sure victims received the support they needed and that "our people are safe, supported and equipped to provide it".

Asked what concerns he had about the comments from the people RNZ had spoken to, McCulloch said any concern raised "matters to us".

"Our people do difficult, important work every day, and they deserve to feel safe, supported and able to speak up."

McCulloch said Victim Support today was a "fundamentally different organisation".

"One that has implemented significant changes to strengthen its culture, practice and focus on victims. Victims deserve - and rightly expect - high levels of professionalism, care and boundaries from our staff."

McCulloch said that following the independent review in 2022, Victim Support accepted the recommendations and made a number of changes.

"Since then, as part of our broader organisational transformation, we have refreshed our leadership team, clarified our core purpose of supporting victims of crime, introduced a clear practice model, implemented a new dedicated case management system, moved to a fully professional staff-based team, refreshed our governance, and strengthened health, safety and wellbeing support for our people, particularly frontline Support Workers."

He said the changes had resulted in a "more victim-centric service".

"Our people have worked incredibly hard to embed the changes, and both our Support Workers and the victims they support have benefited."

McCulloch said that since 2018, Victim Support had managed a 38 percent increase in demand for service, while also improving victim satisfaction.

"This year's independent evaluation of victims' experience with Victim Support showed 96 percent found our service helpful or very helpful and 94 percent experienced at least one positive outcome."

The most recent independent survey of staff found that 86 percent of employees agreed that the agency genuinely supported and prioritised employee wellbeing, McCulloch said.

"Staff turnover has also more than halved, from 41 percent in 2023 to 17 percent today."

He said a follow-up independent culture check was completed in 2024, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice.

"It found the previous areas for improvement cited in 2022 had been completed, and noted significant progress in culture through leadership, wellbeing, communication, team dynamics and the implementation of our core purpose."

McCulloch said maintaining a safe, healthy and supportive workplace took "ongoing work".

"The changes made in recent years have been guided by a wellbeing-first and victim-centric approach. We know change can be difficult, and we do not expect every person to agree with every decision. The changes have been made to improve support for victims and to strengthen the safety, consistency and professionalism of our service."

As chief executive, McCulloch said he took responsibility for the culture of the organisation.

"That is why I take concerns about staff wellbeing seriously. Where concerns are raised, they're considered thoroughly and responded to appropriately."

Asked what his message to the staff who had raised concerns would be, McCulloch said the agency respected the contribution that former staff had made to Victim Support.

"If they have specific concerns, we welcome them to raise those through the feedback form on our website so they can be properly considered.

"To current staff, please raise any concerns through the multiple channels available to you."

McCulloch said any questions about future tender processes sat with the Ministry of Justice.

McCulloch emailed staff after RNZ approached Victim Support for comment last week.

In the email, seen by RNZ, he said the agency had received a "rather surprising media request suggesting that the culture, practice, values, leadership and wellbeing here had not actually changed or improved in recent years, and that all the challenges back in 2021/22 were still very much an issue".

"We are taking this very seriously and will strongly refute this. We are an organisation that delivers exceptional outcomes for victims through a focused purpose and practice, and a wellbeing first, award winning staff culture.

"I personally feel that any suggestion that this is not the case is disrespectful and offensive to all our incredible team and the victims that we support."

Ministry aware of concerns

Victim Support received baseline funding of $27 million in 2025/26. Of that, $12m was allocated to financial grants for eligible victims of crime through the Victim Assistance Scheme, which is administered by Victim Support on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Ministry of Justice group manager, provider and community services Hayley MacKenzie confirmed in a statement to RNZ that the ministry was aware of "recent concerns raised about Victim Support".

"We have sought further information and are assessing the matters in line with contractual obligations.

"Victim Support is responsible for responding to questions about its culture and management."

MacKenzie said the ministry asked Victim Support in 2022 to undertake the independent investigation into earlier concerns.

"The report did not find a widespread culture of bullying but identified some isolated instances of concerning behaviour. A follow-up review in 2024 showed improvement.

"Victim Support is required to report annually on client satisfaction, which consistently remains above 93%."

The ministry continued to monitor performance through regular reporting and engagement, MacKenzie said.

"Where issues are identified, we will require corrective action.

"A recent Request for Information confirmed that Victim Support is currently the only organisation able to deliver a national service under the existing model, and identified opportunities to improve service design. This work is being progressed across the Justice Sector to improve outcomes for victims."

Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith said in a statement to RNZ that support services were "extremely important for victims and their recovery".

"Ensuring victims are at the centre of our justice system underpins all of our work to fix the basics in law and order, and build a future where all New Zealanders can feel safe in their communities.

"Victim Support operates at arm's length of Ministers, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on operational matters."

He referred to the Ministry of Justice assessing the recent concerns and said he would be "getting kept up to date on the situation".

Chief Victims Advisor Ruth Money said in a statement she was "deeply troubled" by staff saying that Victim Support was unsafe.

"I am aware of several complaints from staff and when granted permission, my office shares them with the MoJ to help inform their management of this vital contract. That said I am also aware of a number of NDA's between staff and the organisation which is concerning given the significant Government funding they receive for this important mahi.

"Nothing undermines confidence in a victim-focused organisation more than non-disclosure agreements that prevent former staff from sharing their experiences."

Money said organisations that exist to support victims should "foster a culture where people feel safe to speak, not silenced by contractual obligations".

"If the culture is healthy, transparency should not be something to fear."

In response to Money's comments, McCulloch said the agency did not accept the suggestion that confidentiality provisions were used to "prevent people from speaking up".

"They are about privacy in relation to personal employment matters. They are not there to stop people raising genuine concerns through appropriate channels. Confidentiality can also give people confidence that personal employment matters will remain private.

"Like most organisations, Victim Support may, in a very small number of cases, resolve individual employment matters through agreements that include confidentiality provisions. In our experience, confidentiality is often requested by employees as part of protecting their own privacy."

McCulloch said when such agreements were used, they were negotiated between the parties, with employees able to seek independent legal advice.

"We work closely with the Ministry of Justice and the Chief Victims Advisor, including regularly recommending systemic changes needed for victims through any complaints highlighted by staff and victims."