Everybody involved in sport and recreation in Aotearoa New Zealand should expect to be safe and treated fairly. These activities should also be free from corruption.

That’s why the Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui was established. We were set up to make sure everyone can trust — and be confident — that sport and recreation in New Zealand is safer and fairer.

Our history

The Commission was created following events spanning several years. Independent reviews (here and overseas) uncovered bullying, abuse, and other poor behaviour. So the government set up the Sport Integrity Working Group to recommend the best way to manage integrity in New Zealand sport and recreation. The Working Group recommended:

• establishing a new independent organisation
• folding Drug Free Sport New Zealand into this organisation
• introducing a set of minimum standards for integrity in sport and recreation.

Based on these recommendations, the government passed the Integrity Sport and Recreation Act 2023. The Act established the Commission and sets out our responsibilities. The Act also moved the responsibilities of Drug Free Sport New Zealand to the Commission.

The Commission opened on 1 July 2024 as an ‘independent Crown entity’. Crown entities provide independent public services. This means we can give impartial advice. It also means we can provide support for dispute resolution as a neutral third party.

Through wānanga and with the support of the Commission’s Establishment Board, Te Ope Tāmiro developed a framework to guide our work. The framework is based on the weaving of a kākahu (cloak) and is inspired by the above tongikura about the importance of working together towards shared outcomes.

The weaving of the cloak represents the drawing together of all the threads that support integrity in sport and recreation, including participants, organisations, and communities. The kākahu symbolises safety and protection for everybody in the sport and recreation sector.

Our ingoa Māori, Te Kahu Raunui, speaks to this and to the role and purpose of the Sport Integrity Commission.

• Te Kahu refers to the kākahu, or cloak, that symbolises the interconnectedness of the sport and recreation community and its shared values, and
• Raunui refers to the broad responsibilities of the Commission and its commitment to fulfilling these with openness and honesty.

The name is a taonga grounded in mātauranga Māori. It was developed in a collaborative wānanga setting with Te Ope Tāmiro.

The Commission is grateful for the manaakitanga of the hau kainga at Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa marae and acknowledges their assistance with this kaupapa.

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