Rangatiratanga
Māori authority over Māori affairs must be protected in law and reflected in decision-making.
Kaupapa Māori · Tāmaki Makaurau
Representative preview image · replace with approved Te Rito photographyWhānau restored. Futures empowered.
Kaupapa Māori legal research, advocacy and whānau-led solutions for a fairer care and protection system.
Our kaupapa
Te Whānau Ka Ora
Te Anamata Ka Whanake
Whānau belong at the centre of decisions about their future.
Te Rito advances Māori-led legal and policy solutions grounded in equity, empowerment and cultural integrity.
Start a kōreroWhat guides the work
Research. Advocacy. Restoration.
Whānau restoration
Parents deserve meaningful support, lawful processes and viable pathways toward reunification wherever safety allows.
Evidence into action
Lived experience and rigorous legal research shape practical solutions for long-term structural reform.
Representative preview image · replace with approved Te Rito photographyThe mahi01 02 03 04
Change begins with a clear position.
Whānau advocacy
Supporting a system where parents receive the tautoko they need and restoration remains a real objective wherever safety allows.
Legal research
Evidence-led analysis of care, protection and constitutional settings affecting Māori tamariki and their whānau.
Treaty advocacy
Advancing Te Tiriti-grounded reform, rangatiratanga and protected Māori authority in decisions affecting Māori tamariki.
Systemic reform
Developing practical Māori-led policy and legal solutions informed by lived experience and international Indigenous models.
From lived experience
Built from lived experience
Te Rito began in 2016 as a restoration forum for whānau whose tamariki had been removed from their care. Formalised in 2018, the Auckland-based organisation combines urban grassroots lived experience with evidence-led research and advocacy. Its kaupapa centres tamariki as the rito and supports whānau, hapū and iwi authority in decisions affecting their own.
2016Restoration forum began
2018Te Rito Foundation formalised
WAIParticipating claimant entity
Representative preview image · replace with approved Te Rito photographyA respectful first step
He kōrero tīmatanga
Whether you are whānau seeking a first point of connection or an organisation aligned with the kaupapa, tell Te Rito what you would like to discuss.