IN-CONFIDENCE
OIA-CE-2025-02938
9 June 2025
Yasir Shaikh
[FYI request #31024 email]
Tēnā koe Yasir
Thank you for your email, received on 20 May 2025, to Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for
Children (Oranga Tamariki) requesting information about reports of concern. Your
request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Please note that we have interpreted mention of “Notice(s) of Concern” as referring to
Reports of Concern (RoCs).
I have responded to each part of your request below.
1. What are the internal criteria and thresholds for determining whether a Notice
of Concern leads to direct engagement or interviews with a child?
Oranga Tamariki takes all allegations of harm to children and young people
seriously.
When a RoC is received, a social worker, usually based at the National Contact
Centre, wil complete an initial assessment of the concerns and, if it is
determined that Oranga Tamariki should be involved, the case is referred to a
site and allocated to a social worker.
Upon receiving the RoC, it is the role of Oranga Tamariki to:
• consider the information provided,
• determine the appropriate response for the child and their family, and
• complete an assessment appropriate to the level of concern.
These requirements are set out in sections 15 to 17 of the Oranga Tamariki Act
1989.
When completing the initial assessment and determining whether further
assessment is necessary, Oranga Tamariki must consider:
• the information provided in the RoC,
• any additional information provided in further communication with the notifier,
IN-CONFIDENCE
• a chronology that pulls together information and identifies key events that have
impacted on the child and family, and
• other sources of information (talking to other services and professionals
involved, etc)
The social worker will use the Decision Response Tool to support the decision about
the appropriate response and timeframe, including whether it is appropriate to engage
with the whānau and interview the tamariki involved. This information is then recorded
in our client management system (CYRAS) and approved by a social work Supervisor.
More information about this process is available on the Oranga Tamariki
Practice Centre website and can be found
here.
2. How does Oranga Tamariki assess the credibility and urgency of a Notice of
Concern before contacting or interviewing the child or family?
There are three phases of assessment practice that follows a RoC. Information
about each phase can be found on the Oranga Tamariki Practice Centre website
via the following links:
•
Initial assessment phase
•
Core assessment phase
•
Full assessment phase
The purpose of the initial phase of assessment is to gather sufficient information
to: • understand the needs and vulnerabilities of the child or young person, including
wellbeing concerns and harm or the likelihood of harm to ensure they get an
appropriate response and the right level of service, and
• inform the decision about whether a child who has been reported to Oranga
Tamariki requires further statutory assessment or an alternative response –
and if so, what alternative response that should be.
The initial assessment outcome wil determine the urgency under which a child
should be seen in order to understand their safety.
It is important to note that it would be unusual for a social worker to engage with
a child during the initial assessment (unless they were the person who placed
the RoC). This would normally occur as part of the Core Assessment practice.
3. What are the official guidelines or protocols for notifying the child’s legal
guardians before any interview or contact takes place?
To help you understand our approach to engaging with tamariki and their parents or
guardians, I have included the following links to the Oranga Tamariki Practice Centre.
In the majority of cases, it is a requirement for social workers to first speak with
parents. However, there are some exceptions to this requirement.
Seeking consent to talk to tamariki and rangatahi
Talking with and listening to tamariki and rangatahi
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4. Under what circumstances is it considered acceptable to approach a child
without the prior knowledge or consent of their legal guardian?
In addition to the above guidance which outlines these exceptional circumstances that
centre around serious safety or wellbeing risks to a child or young person, the following
guidance from the Oranga Tamariki Practice Centre website may also be helpful.
See and engage tamariki
See and engage whānau, wider family, caregivers and when appropriate victims of
offending by tamariki
5. What safeguards are in place to prevent repeated or malicious Notices of
Concern, particularly in the context of family court disputes?
After receiving a RoC, Oranga Tamariki undertakes a thorough and careful initial
assessment to help determine the appropriate response. As part of this assessment,
a social worker will review any prior historical information (the chronology) that Oranga
Tamariki holds about the child or young person and the family.
The initial assessment practice considers a range of information in a holistic and
coherent manner and can work to screen RoCs that may contain inaccurate
information.
No further action wil be taken by Oranga Tamariki if:
• there is no substance to the RoC,
or
• the concerns do not indicate harm (or likelihood of harm) to child or young
person,
or
• the concerns are being appropriately responded to by others (including where
the referrer is able to make referrals for the child or young person and the
family),
or
• there is sufficient safety around the child or young person and a social work
assessment is not required.
6. How many Notices of Concern were received by Oranga Tamariki over the past
3 years, and how many of those were:
a. Found to be substantiated,
b. Found to be unsubstantiated, or
c. Found to be malicious or baseless?
Please find attached as Appendix One a spreadsheet outlining the number of RoCs
received in the 2022, 2023, and 2024 financial years, including information on how
many reports were found to be substantiated and how many were found to be
unsubstantiated.
Please note that Oranga Tamariki does not assess whether a report may be malicious
or baseless. When a RoC is received, we operate on the assumption that it has been
submit ed out of genuine concern for the wellbeing or safety of children, and wil
assess it on those merits.
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As such, this part of your request is refused under section 18(g)(i) of the Act, on the
grounds that the information is not held by Oranga Tamariki and we do not believe it
is held by another department.
7. What is Oranga Tamariki’s current policy regarding:
a. Apology or reparation when a notice is found to be unfounded?
The role of Oranga Tamariki is to assess concerns about children and young people,
and to take whatever action we deem appropriate to keep them safe. If, following an
assessment, we believe that the concerns raised were not founded, this does not
necessarily mean that they were raised maliciously. It is also a core responsibility of
Oranga Tamariki to take all RoCs seriously and to engage with them in good faith.
If a RoC is not moved to a Core Assessment (Child and Family Assessment or
Investigation) it may be referred to a community service or closed as requiring no
further action. Oranga Tamariki does not have a policy for apologies or reparations for
instances in which a RoC has been found to be unsubstantiated. As such, this part of
your request is refused under section 18(g)(i) of the Act.
If a Core Assessment was completed and a child, young person, or family members
were unhappy and/or dissatisfied with their experience with Oranga Tamariki, they
have the option to lodge a complaint with our Feedback and Complaints team.
Information on our Feedback and Complaints process can be found on the Oranga
Tamariki websit
e here.
When someone is dissatisfied with their experience with Oranga Tamariki, they may
also contact the Office of the Ombudsman. Information on how to contact the Office
of the Ombudsman is included at the bottom of this letter.
b. Addressing cultural and religious accommodation requests (e.g.
requesting a culturally aligned social worker)?
If a RoC progresses from the National Contact Centre to a site, and is allocated to a
social worker, Oranga Tamariki would attempt to ensure that the assigned social
worker has knowledge of the family’s cultural and religious values and requirements.
Where possible, Oranga Tamariki would attempt to allocate the case to a social worker
from the same ethnic or cultural group. If this is not possible, we seek out appropriate
cultural guidance and supports to assist us to work respectfully with the child or young
person and their family. Oranga Tamariki may source this support from existing
internal resources (for example, a cultural expert based in another site) or look to
externally available information or support.
Please note while we strive to access suitable cultural support for our staff to assist
with engagement, our primary responsibility remains the safety and wellbeing of
children. Even if we are unable to access suitable culture advice or support quickly
enough, we are still required to take whatever actions are necessary to assess and
support safety.
IN-CONFIDENCE
More information on the allocation of key and co-social work roles can be found on our
Practice Centre
here.
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
Kimberley Fourie
Acting General Manager Public Information and Ministerial Services
System Leadership
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