IN-CONFIDENCE

2 April 2024

Rep Albert
[FYI request #25944 email]

Tēnā koe Rep Albert

Thank you for your email to Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children (Oranga Tamariki),
received on 4 March 2024, requesting information on the number of staff employed by
Oranga Tamariki who work remotely from overseas. Your request has been considered
under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

Oranga Tamariki  permanent  and  fixed-term  staff  are based  in  New  Zealand.  Oranga
Tamariki has a policy stating which overseas locations permanent and fixed term staff
can work from and under what circumstances:

•
The  Offshore Remote Access Policy  details  that  staff  can  only  work on  Oranga
Tamariki  provided  devices  (laptop  and  phone)  to  access  Oranga  Tamariki  IT
systems, email and services.
•
Working from overseas is restricted to countries approved by Oranga Tamariki.
•
Staff would need to be able to legally work from that country – for example, if they
have a work visa or a dual citizenship.
•
Staff need to provide justification (such as compassionate  or  extenuating
circumstances – more examples are outlined in response to your third question) and
seek explicit approval to work when overseas. This approval process is outlined in
our response to your fourth question below.

Oranga Tamariki does not employ any staff who are permanently based overseas, so all
staff who may travel overseas and work are only overseas for a finite period. For your
request, we have provided information for the period of 3 February to 3 March 2024, as
this most recent period is an accurate reflection of employees using Oranga Tamariki
devices overseas for work purposes at any one time.

I have responded to each of your questions below.

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IN-CONFIDENCE

How many employees (permanent and fixed-term) are working remotely from
overseas? (Focusing on Fiji and Australia)

Between 3 February to 3 March 2024, 21 permanent and fixed-term staff members had
been approved to take Oranga Tamariki devices offshore. However, many of these staff
were on leave for some part of this period, meaning that they may not have been working
while abroad but applied to take their devices with them when travelling as a backup in
case they were called on to work while away.

Of the 21 staff who were approved to take their devices offshore, 10 travelled to Australia
or Fiji. To protect the privacy of staff who may have been travelling for reasons not related
to  work  for  Oranga  Tamariki  (such  as  compassionate  leave),  we  have  not  provided
specific numbers of kaimahi who travelled to each country. As such, this element of your
request  is  refused  under  section  9(2)(a)  of  the  Act,  on  the  grounds of  protection  the
privacy of natural persons.

Which division or directorate those employees are assigned to? (Please list the
division/directorate and the number of employees working from overseas)

The  21  staff  who  are  currently travelling or who  have travelled offshore between  3
February and 3 March 2024 are assigned to the following division or directorate:

•
Service Delivery: 14
•
People Culture and Enabling Services: 3
•
Māori Partnerships and Communities: 1
•
Office of the Chief Executive: 1
•
Quality Practice and Experiences: 1
•
System Leadership: 1

What is the business justification to have those employees working remotely from
overseas?

As per Oranga Tamariki policy, permanent and fixed-term staff can work from overseas
and take Oranga Tamariki devices overseas only under exceptional circumstances, such
as:
•
While  on official overseas Oranga  Tamariki-related  work  e.g.  international  child
protection or adoptions.
•
When staff in critical roles are on leave overseas, they can seek approval to take
Oranga Tamariki devices to be contactable by Oranga Tamariki for emergencies or
business continuity reasons.
•
If they work in a critical role and may need to be contactable by Oranga Tamariki for
emergencies or business continuity reasons when travelling under compassionate
or extenuating personal reasons (for example, personal travel by staff if a family
member overseas is sick or are stuck overseas due to unforeseen circumstances).

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IN-CONFIDENCE

Which position within the Ministry approved the overseas remote work?

Requests to take Oranga Tamariki devices overseas are approved on a case-by-case
basis. Our Offshore Remote Access policy requires approval at the following levels:

•
Line manager of staff member
•
General Manager, Human Resources or Senior Human Resources Officer
•
Chief Information Security Officer/Acting Chief Privacy Officer
•
Deputy Chief Executive, People Culture and Enabling Services.

With the public service cuts, how do we justify having employees working overseas
while people in New Zealand wil  lose their jobs?

Like  all  Government  agencies  Oranga  Tamariki  is  operating  in  a  challenging  fiscal
environment. With the new Government signalling a fiscal reset and public sector reform
the Ministry is looking, and wil  continue to look, at ways to manage its resources.

Oranga Tamariki is currently exploring options to meet the fiscal savings expectations
outlined by the Government. Oranga Tamariki initiated a thorough approach to identify
targeted savings areas including administrative efficiencies such as travel costs.

Oranga Tamariki has introduced interim changes to our Travel Policy while we review our
policy and ensure it remains fit for purpose. There is currently a pause on non-children
related travel until 30 June 2024. This wil  not impact any travel needed for children or
young people in the care or custody of the Chief Executive.

Oranga Tamariki permanent and fixed term staff are all based in New Zealand – any staff
who may be working overseas are doing so for a finite period and there is an expectation
that the staff member wil  return within an agreed period. As noted in our response to your
third  question,  the  justification  for  working  overseas  is  first  and  foremost  the  need  to
undertake overseas related work including international child protection and adoptions.
Other  justifications  include  compassionate  or  extenuating  personal  reasons  (e.g. an
employee in a critical role is on leave overseas or needs to attend an overseas family
emergency and needs to be contactable by Oranga Tamariki for emergencies or business
continuity reasons). This situation would apply if the staff member performed a critical
support role and may be required to respond to an important business-related situation.

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IN-CONFIDENCE

Oranga Tamariki may make the information contained in this letter available to the public
by publishing this on our website with your personal details removed.

I trust you find this information useful. Should you have any concerns with this response,
I would encourage you to raise them with Oranga Tamariki. Alternatively, you are advised
of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman. Information
about this is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by contacting them on 0800
802 602.

Nāku noa, nā

Cassandra Anderson
Deputy Chief Executive
People Culture & Enabling Services
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