The Family Centre

Welcome to The Family Centre, a leading cultural and social policy research agency located in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. Our institution is dedicated to conducting research, providing family therapy services, and engaging in community development work to improve the well-being of individuals and families.

At The Family Centre, we have a unique three tikanga (cultural) organisational structure, consisting of Māori, Pacific Island, and Pākehā (European) sections. While each section operates independently, we collaborate and share resources to ensure a holistic approach to our work.

Our primary focus is on social policy research, where we strive to address the pressing issues faced by our communities. As a community-based NGO, we are deeply rooted in the areas we serve, allowing us to better understand and meet the needs of our clients. Additionally, we actively engage in international research collaborations and education initiatives, further extending our impact beyond New Zealand's borders.

As a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation, we rely on the generosity of individuals and organizations to support our work. All donations directly contribute to our research, family therapy, community development, and education efforts. If you would like to make a donation, please reach out to Mike Deacon via email.

Our dedication to knowledge dissemination is evident through our publications. We contribute to research and policy journals, as well as popular media and publications worldwide. Our expertise extends to various areas, including child poverty reduction, elder abuse, living wage measurement, and the social and economic impacts of housing tenure.

We are proud to have played a significant role in introducing seven out of the ten measures used in the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 through the New Zealand Poverty Measurement Project. This project, led jointly by Charles Waldegrave from FCSPRU and Bob Stephens from the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington, has been instrumental in shaping policies that address poverty in New Zealand.

Furthermore, we have conducted comprehensive research on measuring elder abuse in New Zealand through the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Our findings have been compiled in a technical report for the Office for Seniors within the Ministry of Social Development, authored by Charles Waldegrave.

For those interested in exploring our research and publications, we provide access to annotated bibliographies and staff biographies on our website. We are committed to challenging Western perspectives and co-creating research on loneliness and social isolation with Māori and Pacific Peoples.

Located at 71 Woburn Road in Lower Hutt, our institution serves as a hub for our activities. We also have a mailing address at PO Box 31-050 in Lower Hutt, Wellington. We invite you to join us in our mission to create positive change and improve the lives of individuals and families in Aotearoa/New Zealand.