Experiences of Care in Aotearoa 2024/2025

This is our fifth full report on compliance with the Oranga Tamariki (National Care Standards and Related Matters) Regulations 2018 (NCS RegulationsCloseNCS Regulations
(National Care Standards and Related Matters) Regulations 2018 View the full glossary). When I wrote my foreword for our inaugural Experiences of Care in AotearoaCloseAotearoa
New ZealandView the full glossary report back in 2021, I expected compliance would have improved five years on. I hoped that, by now, we would be producing a shorter report with key data that demonstrated compliance and that the voices of experience would increasingly be talking about what is working well for them.

Five years down the track, our reports are saying pretty much the same thing from one year to the next – Oranga Tamariki continues to not comply with the regulations and improvement has been limited. The regulations are a minimum standard. Crucially, these regulations relate to the care of tamarikiClosetamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary and rangatahiCloserangatahi
Young person aged 14 – 21 years of ageView the full glossary.

The three most common reasons why tamariki and rangatahi come into care are parental alcohol and drug use, family violence and neglect. They have often experienced trauma and broken relationships and need to be cared for. Yet Oranga Tamariki has assessed itself as only meeting all of its own performance measures for a little over one-third of tamariki and rangatahi in its care.¹ Tamariki and rangatahi have had frequent changes in important relationships with adults they should be able trust such as their social worker. There is poor planning for them to leave care, and they haven’t always had the education and health support they need. And an increased number of tamariki and rangatahi in State care were found to have been abused or neglected.

The obligation for meeting the NCS Regulations sits with Oranga Tamariki and other organisations with custody and care. But it relies on the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Health NZ to prioritise services and support for tamariki and rangatahi in State care, and for the sector to collaborate effectively. There is no regulatory requirement for these other agencies to do so. In every community we visit, we hear about tamariki and rangatahi waiting for education and health services, some even for school enrolment, while government agencies debate which of them will pay for it. This is not good enough.

Oranga Tamariki has said it has faced unprecedented pressure on its services this year, making improved compliance a challenge. It says there has been a 17 percent increase in the number of tamariki and rangatahi coming to its attention and that the lives of tamariki, rangatahi and whānauClosewhānau
Whānau refers to people who are biologically linked or share whakapapa. For the Monitor’s monitoring purposes, whānau includes parents, whānau members living with tamariki at the point they have come into care View the full glossary are more complex.

Over the five years we have been reporting on compliance with the NCS Regulations, the numbers of reports of concern and of tamariki and rangatahi in care have fluctuated. But what has stayed constant is the partial level of compliance by Oranga Tamariki. While we recognise the increased demands on Oranga Tamariki, it does not explain the ongoing failure to comply with these regulations. Regulations that have been in place since 2019. Performance can and must be improved.

This is our first care report since Minister Upston amended the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act, strengthening accountability for agencies that are the subject of this report. The Minister said at the time “additional reporting requirements will give Ministers the ability to take decisive action earlier to ensure relevant agencies are improving compliance and enhancing the wellbeing of children and young people in care”. This is an important step, requiring agencies to provide an update to Ministers four months after the publication of this report.

The voices of tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau come through clearly in this report. They want and need better from those responsible for their care and protection. When tamariki and rangatahi get the support they need, they feel positive about their future. The voices heard through this report echo the experiences described in our previous reports. And they are consistent with those reflected in the recent state of care report compiled by VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai.²

A child who was aged 5 when the NCS Regulations came into effect in 2019 is now 11. That is a long time in the life of any child, let alone one who needed care and protection for the reasons reported here.