For more than 30 years Communio has been helping New Zealanders navigate the medical and legal processes before and after death, including bereavement care services.
Communio has trained professionals who understand the legal requirements and processes that go along with the end of a life in New Zealand. Its team is experienced in offering a pathway through the hospital system as well as facilitating the process in a sensitive, culturally appropriate way that respects both the deceased and the grieving people left behind.
The challenge Communio faced was the mortuary environment it operates in was no longer ideal in meeting the needs of grieving whānau and families. Infrastructure is becoming out-dated, with many mortuaries around the country having been built into hospital basements, decades ago.
With the support of the Ministry of Justice and Te Whatu Ora/Health New Zealand, Communio is working on providing community-based mortuaries around the country. The first facility, named “Kia Tau,” was opened in Lower Hutt in late 2025. Communio needed to communicate this significant shift – to media, government stakeholders, and the wider public in a way that was sensitive, culturally grounded, and which clearly articulated why there was a case for change.
GRC Partners worked with Communio to craft communications for the opening of Kia Tau, the company’s new purpose-built facility in Lower Hutt.
Collaboratively we developed messaging that captured both the operational significance of the move and the human and cultural dimensions at its heart – including Communio’s ongoing work with New Zealanders, Māori groups and iwi to better support tikanga Māori in the handling of tūpāpapaku (the deceased). We managed media relations for the opening, pitching the story to key outlets and securing news coverage in The Post by journalist Kevin Norquay and an upcoming long-format current affairs digital television feature on The Hui.
At the official opening, GRC Partners also supported Communio in securing ministerial and local government attendance and clearly articulating what the facility represented – and a glimpse of what the future of coronial services in New Zealand could look like.
The opening of Kia Tau, which translates to “be at ease,” was received with the attention and seriousness it deserved. Minister of Courts and Associate Minister of Justice Hon. Nicole McKee attended and publicly endorsed the community-based model, acknowledging its potential to reshape how mortuary services are delivered across New Zealand.
Coverage in The Post reflected the significance of the milestone – New Zealand’s first community mortuary – while honouring the cultural intent behind the facility and its name.
Communio’s vision for a more modern, respectful, and whanau-centred approach to death has raised stronger awareness on bereavement and coronial services, with the opening of more community-based mortuaries underway.
The Post – New community mortuary aims to make a tough time less stressful
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