Our Mission
Bond Trust works to strengthen reintegration, community safety, and cross sector collaboration across Aotearoa. Our mahi focuses on supporting people returning from prison, building capability within the sector, and improving national practice through partnership and advocacy.
More than 100 years of walking alongside
Bond Trust was formed in March 2014 by a small group with more than 100 years of collective experience walking alongside people in prison as they planned for, and began, new and productive lives in the community.
At the heart of our mahi sits the koru, a symbol of new beginnings, growth, and the unfolding of potential. The koru reflects our belief that every person carries the capacity to grow, reconnect, and contribute positively when supported with dignity, accountability, and genuine community.
Our roots lie in the internationally recognised best-practice model of Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), which aligns closely with the koru’s meaning: people growing through connection, supported by a circle of care, responsibility, and hope.
A Memorandum of Collaboration with the Fellowship Support Network
As our work expanded, we entered into a Memorandum of Collaboration with the Fellowship Support Network (FSN). FSN now coordinates most of the direct, person-centred journeys with people preparing for release and those reintegrating back into the community.
This partnership has allowed Bond to focus more intentionally on sector collaboration, systems improvement, and strengthening public understanding of what supports safer reintegration. Like the koru, our work continues to unfurl, steady, grounded, and guided by values that honour the dignity of all.
See how the partnership works in practiceConvening the conversations that shape practice
In recent years we have convened two national cross-sector seminars:
March 2025
Te Ara Oranga
March 2026
Te Ara Oranga 2.0
These hui brought together a wide range of voices and have helped establish direct, ongoing communication with key stakeholders across the sector, including:
- Te Ara Poutama, Department of Corrections
- New Zealand Police, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa
- New Zealand Parole Board
- Rehabilitation service providers
- Reintegration service providers
- Peer support networks and people with lived experience
- Faith-based community groups
- Leading academics and researchers
Each of these relationships forms part of a wider ecosystem, a network of people and organisations working together to support safer, healthier communities. The koru reminds us that progress is not linear; it is iterative, relational, and strengthened through shared purpose.
A collaborative workstream has emerged
From Te Ara Oranga and Te Ara Oranga 2.0, a significant collaborative workstream has emerged.
The National Advisory Group on Special Conditions (NAGSC)
A cross-sector group developing clearer, evidence-based, culturally grounded guidance on the use and purpose of special parole conditions in Aotearoa.
Read more about NAGSCThis workstream reflects the koru’s essence: growth supported by structure, accountability balanced with compassion, and the belief that communities flourish when people are given the opportunity to do the same.
Our mission is carried by three commitments
Protection, partnership, and participation shape every piece of work we take on. Read how each one guides our aims, or see the mahi it produces day to day.