14 August 2024
Daniel Harding
[FYI request #27625 email]
Tēnā koe Daniel
Thank you for your email of 16 July 2024 to Oranga Tamariki— Ministry for Children
(Oranga Tamariki), requesting information regarding criteria for NGO checks. Your
request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
The Children’s Act 2014 states that all people who wish to work with children in
government-funded organisations must have safety checks, which are to be updated
every three years. It also requires that contracted providers who employ or engage
children’s workers ensure that standard safety checks are completed which involves:
• confirmation of identity
• at least two referee checks
• qualifications checks
• a work history, in chronological order, for the last five years
• a formal risk assessment
For further information regarding the safety checking requirements under the Children’s
Act 2014 please see
here.
Te Kāhui Kāhu hold oversight functions of elements of the Children’s Act. Their
responsibilities include the accreditation of social services, which is in effect an
assurance an organisation can safely delivery social services to the community.
Accreditation requires an organisation to demonstrate, amongst other things, that it has
robust vetting of children’s workers in place. In addition to the vetting requirements set
out in the Children’s Act, Oranga Tamariki policy requires that children’s workers
employed b
y level 1 accredited organisations (the highest level of accreditation) are
vetting against Oranga Tamariki child protection records.
I have addressed each of your questions below.
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I'd like to request the policies around the criteria for NGO checks. When a check is
returned, one of these statements are selected:
•
No Information found re Applicant
•
Information found, no concerns re Applicant
•
Information found – concerns may remain
•
Information found of concern regarding – Applicant
•
Information found of concern regarding - Household Member / Family Member
/ Known Associate
What is the criteria for each statement above, to be selected.
Oranga Tamariki use the
NGO caregiver vetting service Fact sheet and FAQs as a guide
for performing NGO checks. In accordance with section 16(1)(e) of the Official Information
Act, the section titled
Guidelines to determining a vetting result has been provided to you
as an excerpt of the contents. This is attached as Appendix A.
Please note Oranga Tamariki only completes vetting on behalf of some NGOs, although
as noted earlier, Oranga Tamariki also undertakes mandatory CYRAS (the Oranga
Tamariki case management system) checks for children’s workers at level 1 accredited
organisations. If required, we advise that you contact the NGO to which you submitted
your application and request information pertaining to your vetting outcome. The NGO
should be able to provide clarification regarding the specific decision-making process they
used to assess your application.
Should someone have an allegation about them and OT selects, "information found
- concerns may remain" - what is the likelihood of this being changed?
What is the criteria for change and does OT understand that this may impact
someones job in the future should there be a false allegation made?
What are the steps to ensure someone who is impacted by this, is fairly treated and
how does Oranga Tamariki support people who have had false allegations that are
kept on their system?
Decisions on safety checks are unlikely to be changed unless there are changes to the
information the decision is based on. In the event information held within CYRAS is
confirmed to be incorrect or require changing (including for example, situations where
claims are proved to be unfounded or malicious) notes can be added to records to ensure
any future checks are carried out based on correct information.
NGOs have a vital role in ensuring that the information presented for the safety check has
been thoroughly screened for accuracy prior to submission. CYRAS vetting is also just
one safety check to identify potential risk and concerns in relation to an applicant's
suitability to work with children and/or young persons. NGO providers should also
undertake additional checks including reference and third-party checking, police vetting,
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identity confirmation and interviewing. A clear CYRAS vetting result does not guarantee
that an applicant is suitable for employment.
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 a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by contacting them on 0800
802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Rachel Leota
Deputy Chief Executive
Tamariki and Whanau Services
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