OIA-CE-2025-03020
8 September 2025
DC
[FYI request #31600 email]
Tēnā koe DC
Thank you for your email, received on 15 July 2025, to Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for
Children (Oranga Tamariki) requesting information on Oranga Tamariki staff budgets
and expenditure. Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act).
I have responded to each part of your request below.
For each financial year from FY2021 to FY2024, please provide the following for
each Deputy Chief Executive (DCE) or equivalent Executive Leadership Team
(ELT) member’s portfolio (i.e., all cost centres and services reporting to them):
•
The approved annual budget and actual expenditure.
•
If any financial details are considered sensitive, percentage variance
(over/under budget) is acceptable.
•
Please include the name of the responsible DCE or ELT member for each
year.
•
The year-on-year change in actual FTE (as a number or percentage).
FTE by Executive Portfolio – FY2021 to Present
•
The budgeted FTE vs actual FTE for each financial year from FY2021
through to the most recent available data in 2025.
•
If available, please include quarterly or mid-year FTE figures where tracked.
Please find the information you have requested attached as Appendix One.
•
Any instances from FY2021 to the date of this request where increases to
frontline or service delivery FTE were sought and approved.
•
Copies of, or relevant excerpts from, approval documentation submitted to
the Executive Leadership Team or the Oranga Tamariki Governance Board
relating to those FTE increases
This information is not held centrally, and would involve an extensive manual check of
a large number of files. Collating this information impair our ability to continue standard
operations and as such, this part of your request is refused under section 18(f) of the
Act, as the information cannot be provided without substantial manual collation or
research.

I  can  confirm,  however  the  instances  where  Oranga  Tamariki  sought  funding  for
frontline FTE as part of the Government’s Budget process. The only instance where
funding for frontline FTE was sought was as part of Budget 2024 and Budget 2025 in
regard  to  the  Military-style  Academies  and  Young  Serious  Of ender  Legislative
change. In addtion, funding has been placed in contingency through Budget 2025 for
professionalism  of  the  residences  workforce,  which  includes  some  funding  for
additional frontline roles. Information regarding this funding is publicly available via the
Vote Oranga Tamariki Estimates of Appropriations here and 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
Betty O’Connor Scurr
Chief Financial Officer

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