As a working paper series, we are committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its foundational principles.

We recognise the right of Māori and Moriori to tino rangatiratanga to exercise traditional authority and control over their taonga, including their knowledge and intellectual property. In order to align ourselves with the principles in Te Tiriti:

• We ask that researchers submitting their work have built strong, respectful relationships with the communities they work with. All submissions must confirm prior consultation with any relevant Indigenous communities. Māori, Moriori and Indigenous communities can decline any publication at any time, and we will remove articles at the request of these communities in order to respect their intellectual property.
• We actively invite submissions from Māori and Moriori community members and encourage them to join our editorial team.
• We accept work written in Te Reo Māori and Ta Rē Moriori.
• We don't require a specific type of formal referencing, because we acknowledge that how you reference may vary.
• We value place-based and community knowledge in formats such as kōrero.

We recognise that people can face multiple, intersectional forms of discrimination. We safeguard the rights of disabled people, rainbow communities, and all marginalised groups by ensuring their knowledge and experiences are treated with respect within our series. We also act as kaitiaki of the research and stories entrusted to us by authors and communities.

We believe in removing barriers that might prevent marginalised people from participating in research and publishing.

• There is no charge to publish in this journal or to access the material. Publication is free for the author, and access to the work is free to the public.
• We have an open approach to formatting and referencing and have removed these standard requirements for submissions.
• We do not reject any submissions. Instead, we work with the author if our editorial team feels that any edits are needed.

The safety and privacy of all authors and communities are important to us, especially for LGBTQIA+ people and those impacted by conflict. To keep our authors safe, we will remove work previously published at any author's request, as we recognise that circumstances may change and links to previous research can later jeopardise the safety of the author(s). We support anonymous publications when requested.

If your research was based in Aotearoa, we ask that you reflect on the following questions:

• How have you ensured Māori and Moriori voices, mātauranga, and experiences are included and centred?
• Does your work address historical or contemporary issues through a Te Tiriti lens, for instance, by examining policy, social structures, environmental challenges, or artistic expressions with an awareness of any connections to Te Tiriti?
• Does your research contribute to equitable outcomes and social justice for Māori and Moriori?
• Have you used Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Moriori through the use of Te Reo Māori or Ta Re Moriori, and adherence to tikanga in your research practices?

For all papers, including research based in Aotearoa as well as those involving communities abroad, we encourage you to reflect on the following points:

• How will you actively protect the community's interests, cultural integrity, and well-being? This includes safeguarding sensitive information, ensuring anonymity where appropriate, and designing research that genuinely benefits the community and avoids perpetuating harmful stereotypes or extractive practices. Consider how your research can contribute to addressing historical injustices or contemporary challenges faced by the community.
• How have you ensured equitable participation and benefit? Think about how the community you are doing research with has been involved.
• How will your research findings be shared back with the community in accessible and meaningful ways, and are there opportunities for capacity building or direct contributions to community aspirations?
• What is your role as a researcher? Reflect on and consider including in your work your positionality, potential biases, and the power dynamics inherent in cross-cultural research. We ask that you be open to learning from community members and respecting their distinct worldviews, languages, and any specific customs or protocols.
• How will you establish a genuine partnership with the community? This involves moving beyond a researcher-subject dynamic to co-create knowledge, respecting the community's own research priorities, and ensuring equitable benefit sharing. Research should recognise and respect the autonomy and authority of Indigenous communities over their lands, resources, knowledge, and cultural heritage. See Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

We encourage you to actively find and consult ethical guidelines or tikanga that may be specific to the region or area you are working in before beginning your research and considering submission to the series.