Appendix B

In March 2025, in response to our 2023/24 Experiences of Care in AotearoaCloseAotearoa
New ZealandView the full glossary report, Oranga Tamariki developed its National Care Standards Action Plan.

The plan is intended to improve the experiences of tamarikiClosetamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary and rangatahiCloserangatahi
Young person aged 14 – 21 years of ageView the full glossary in care. It identifies 10 priority areas to support compliance with the NCS RegulationsCloseNCS Regulations
(National Care Standards and Related Matters) Regulations 2018 View the full glossary, focused on aspects of practice that we had highlighted as requiring improvement.

The 10 priority areas are as follows:¹⁹⁰

1. Children and young people who enter return home placements are visited at least weekly in the first four weeks of their return home.

2. Children in care are visited in accordance with the assessed frequency recorded in their All About Me plan, or at least every eight weeks.

3. All About Me plans for eligible rangatahi include: Planning to complete life skills, Planning to meaningfully offer the support of a transition worker (a sound transition plan), Planning to help eligible rangatahi obtain key documents.

4. All About Me plans are current.

5. All About Me plans include relevant actions around supporting family, 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, hapūClosehapū
Sub-tribeView the full glossary, iwiCloseiwi
TribeView the full glossary, marae and family group connections for tamariki Māori.

6. Caregivers are visited in line with the Caregiver Support Plan, and at least once every six months.

7. Caregiver and placement approvals.

8. Children in care have an approved assessment report within the last 12 months.

9. Children in care are enrolled and engaged with General Practitioners / Primary Health Organisations.

10. Reduce peer to peer harm in residences.

In its annual report for 2024/25, Oranga Tamariki noted that a more comprehensive understanding of the plan’s impact on compliance is expected following the completion of the first round of National Care Standards case file analysis for 2025/26, scheduled for September 2025.