OT-OIA-2026-0096
13 March 2026
Tēnā koe John
On 24 February 2026, Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children (Oranga Tamariki)
received notification from the Office of the Ombudsman of your complaint about your
request regarding Oranga Tamariki residence grievance panels, which you made via
the FYI site on 1 December 2025.
On reviewing your complaint, we determined that the FYI site did not forward your
request to us for action as they should have, and so we did not receive your request
until we received it via the Office of the Ombudsman. We have attempted to contact
the FYI site to address this issue, however we do apologise for any frustration that this
may have caused you.
To ensure you received a response to your request promptly, we considered the
notification from the Office of the Ombudsman as receipt of your request. Your request
has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Oranga Tamariki undertakes a process for nominations and appointments in
accordance with the Oranga Tamariki (Residential Care) Regulations 1996, the Board
Appointment Guidelines produced by the Te Kawa Mataaho - Public Service
Commission and the Cabinet Guidelines for the appointment process.
I have responded to each of your questions below:
May I ask how you called for public nomination and on what platform you have
call for public nominations e.g. govt.jobs website.
I can advise that Oranga Tamariki advertised the vacancy for an Oranga Tamariki
Residence Grievance Panel role for Te Maioha o Parekarangi residence (Rotorua) on
the following websites:
•
Oranga Tamariki external website
•
Seek and Māori & Pacific Jobs.
Five government agencies who hold nomination data bases for expressions of interest
were emailed for potential candidates:
•
Whaikaha—Ministry of Disabled People
•
Te Puni Kōkiri—Ministry for Māori Development
•
Ministry for Pacific Peoples
•
Manatū Wāhine—Ministry for Women
•
Te Tari Mātāwaka —Ministry for Ethnic Communities.
A copy of your ad and how many vacancies you have for this round.
Please find attached as
Appendix One, a copy of the email along with the Residence
Grievance Panels Position Profile and Information Brief that was sent out to the above-
noted agencies for nominations.
There was one community panel member vacancy advertised for Te Maioha o
Parekarangi Grievance Panel in Rotorua for which nominations were sought.
Also, how many applications you have received from the public and how many
you have received from other nominating agencies such as TPK or Ministry of
women etc for your role.
How many you have shortlisted and how many you have interviewed.
Oranga Tamariki did not receive any nominations from the five nomination agencies
contacted. However, Oranga Tamariki received 37 self nominations from interested
applicants, of which three candidates were shortlisted and two candidates were
interviewed.
Also, can I request to view the appointment letter if there is one sent to the
previous appointee.
Please find attached, as
Appendix Two, a copy of a previous letter for an appointment
to Te Maioha o Parekarangi Grievance Panel. Please note that some information
within this document has been withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the
privacy of individuals.
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 us. 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
Gary Meikle
Executive Director Transformation and Strategic Alignment
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