OT-OIA-2026-0116
16 April 2026
Charles Jordan
[FYI request #33791 email]
Tēnā koe Charles
Thank you for your email, received on 21 March 2026, to Oranga Tamariki—Ministry
for Children (Oranga Tamariki) requesting information on safety and security incidents
at Te Puna Wai o Tuhinapo Youth Justice residence. Your request has been
considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Te Puna Wai ō Tuhinapo is a facility in Christchurch, for male and female rangatahi
who have been placed in a secure youth justice residence by the court.
Kaimahi at the residence work hard to maintain the safety, security and wellbeing of
everyone at the site. However, secure residences are complex and dynamic
environments, where incidents can occur. These can vary over time for reasons
including the needs and characteristics of the cohort of young people. Oranga
Tamariki kaimahi, alongside other professionals such as clinical teams, work to help
rangatahi address any potentially harmful behaviours.
Data in this request has been drawn from two systems – our current and previous
incident reporting platforms. The previous platform was used for incident reporting until
October 2023, and had a lower number of reported incidents (354 in 2023). There was
a transition period from July 2023, which means some incidents may have been
duplicated across the systems. Please be aware that these two systems do not have
categories broken down into the incident types that you have requested.
I have provided information on the incidents reported from the current system in the
tables below.
IN-CONFIDENCE
Te Puna Wai o Tuhinapo incident data from 18 July 2023 to 1 January 2026 – by
date
Year
Number of incidents reported
2023
114
2024
1070
2025
1257
2026 (1 January only)
7
Total
2448
Te Puna Wai o Tuhinapo incident data from 18 July 2023 to 1 January 2026 – by
category
Category
Number of incidents reported
Hazard
12
Health and Safety
416
Near Miss
35
Security
1985
Total
2448
Other data in this response has been drawn from records held by Te Puna Wai ō
Tuhinapo. Leaders monitor incidents at secure youth justice residences on an ongoing
basis, including considering trends, using information from both using both
system data and manual reporting from the residence. Again, this data is not broken
down into all of the categories that you have requested.
Providing breakdowns in the manner you have requested would require manual review
of thousands of reports and cross-referencing with information held at the residence.
Therefore, I have provided breakdowns of information that match your requests as
closely as possible where this is available. However, some parts of your request are
refused under section 18(f) of the Act, as it would require substantial manual collation
to provide.
Please note that all information provided in this response is operational data and
subject to change.
I have responded to each of your requests below.
For the period of 01 January 2023 through 01 January 2026 at Te Puna Wai o
Tuhinapo Youth Justice residence. Please provide statistical information for the
following type of safety and security incidents.
1. Unlawful substances and other contraband found inside the residence and
the suspected source.
This information cannot be provided without substantial manual collation and is
therefore refused under section 18(f) of the Act.
2. Assaults against young people, and specifically multiple assaults against
the same young person by the same aggressor.
In 2023, 53 incidents classed as assaults (against rangatahi or kaimahi) were recorded
in the previous system.
IN-CONFIDENCE
Current data on such incidents reported in from 2023 to 2026 is provided in the table
below.
Year
Incidents reported
2023 (1 July - 31 December)
39
2024
54
2025
107
2026 (1 January only)
0
Total
200
Please note that the part of your question regarding multiple assaults involving the
same rangatahi cannot be provided without substantial manual collation and is
therefore refused under section 18(f) of the Act.
3. Assaults against staff and medical leave resulting from assault
Information on the number of incidents recorded as involving an assault against staff
is provided in the table below. Please note that, in 2023, incident recording grouped
together injuries or assaults towards staff, including accidental harm.
Year
Incidents reported
2023
39
2024
38
2025
96
2026 (1 January only)
0
Total
174
We are unable to provide information on medical leave resulting from assault, as this
is not information that can be specifically filtered for in our system. In order to provide
this information, we would need to undertake a manual review of all leave requests
relating to medical leave, which would constitute substantial manual collation. As such,
this part of your request is refused under section 18(f) of the Act.
4. Escape attempts
This information cannot be provided without substantial manual collation and is
therefore refused under section 18(f) of the Act.
5. Incidents involving sexual contact and harassment involving male and
female young people.
Information on the number of incidents recorded as involving sexualised behaviour is
provided in the table below. Please note that data is not available for 2023 for this
category. An incident involving sexualised behaviour does not necessarily mean that
there was ‘contact’ or ‘harassment’ between young people, nor do we have information
about the gender of the young people involved. For example, this data might include
incidents where a young person had made sexualised comments to a staff member.
IN-CONFIDENCE
Year
Incidents reported
2024
0
2025
11
2026 (1 January only)
0
Total
11
6. Grievances filed by young people.
Information on the number of completed grievances at Te Puna Wai o Tuhinapo is
provided in the table below. Please note that data is not yet available for 1 January
2026.
Year
Number of completed grievances
2023
105
2024
227
2025
122
Total
454
7. Employment related grievances filed by staff.
Information about the number of employment-related grievances filed by staff at Te
Puna Wai o Tuhinapo Youth Justice Residence can be found in the table below.
Year
Number of grievances
2023
5
2024
1
2025
2
Total
8
Please note that several kaimahi have put in more than one personal grievance
covering the matters of one event, so the above data may not reflect the number of
incidents about which a grievance has been filed.
The term “grievance” in this context has been interpreted to refer to personal
grievances as defined under sections 102 and 103 of the Employment Relations Act
2000.
8. Incidents that occurred during transport of young people to court and other
appointments.
This information cannot be provided without substantial manual collation and is
therefore refused under section 18(f) of the Act.
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.
IN-CONFIDENCE
I trust you find this information useful. If you wish to discuss this response with us,
please feel free to contact
[Oranga Tamariki request email]. 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
Kathryn Wilson
Chief Advisor
Youth Justice Services and Residential Care
Document Outline
