Oranga Tamariki Updates: Repeal of Section 7AA, consultation on Long-Term Insights Briefing and report on oversights system

Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill receives Royal Assent

The Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill received Royal Assent on 7 April 2025. Section 7AA set out specific duties for the Chief Executive to recognise and provide a practical commitment to the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi. Read our 3-part part series on the repeal of 7AA.

A departmental report was prepared by Oranga Tamariki that summarised submissions on the Bill and made recommendations to the Social Services and Community Select Committee (the Committee) about the Bill. The report stated that the Committee received 3748 submissions in total, including 2045 unique submissions and 1703 form submissions or petitions. In addition, the Committee heard 117 oral submissions between 29 July and 7 August 2024. Of the total submissions, 1377 supported the Bill (36.7%), 2282 submissions opposed the Bill (60.9%). Eighty-nine submissions had no discernible view (2.4%).

The report noted that [outside of Section 7AA]:

“There are no other provisions in the Act that provide for the establishment of strategic partnerships or for mandatory public reporting on measures taken to reduce disparities for Māori children and young people in state care. These activities would become operational matters and Oranga Tamariki would pursue strategic partnerships and include the measures in existing reporting mechanisms. However, as these would be operational and not a statutory obligation, the change could lead to a decrease in trust and confidence among whānau and communities that work with Oranga Tamariki.” (Para. 49, pg. 20).

The report recommended that alongside repeal of section 7AA; the Committee consider inserting:

• clauses equivalent to subsections 7AA(2)(c), 7AA(3) and 7AA(4) regarding strategic partnerships in other parts of the Act; and
• clauses equivalent to subsections 7AA(5) and 7AA(6) regarding reporting duties of the chief executive in other parts of the Act.

Subsequent to these recommendations, the Bill was amended to retain aspects of section 7AA that related to the obligations on the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki to develop strategic partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations, including iwi authorities. However, the Committee declined to amend the Bill to retain the aspects of 7AA that related to reporting duties of the chief executive, stating that:

“A majority of us are satisfied that there are a number of mechanisms for reporting outcomes for tamariki Māori that remain, produced by both Oranga Tamariki and the Independent Children’s Monitor. There are also reporting requirements that the chief executive is held to, such as providing any information requested by the Monitor.”

Following the passing of the legislation, Children’s Minister and sponsor of the Bill, Karen Chhour, stated that:

“This Bill will allow Oranga Tamariki to focus on its primary duty first, which is the care and protection of young people, making sure they are safe from harm. While Section 7AA was well-intended, it also resulted in children being put second.  As the responsible Minister I could not accept or excuse this fact. We can no longer deny that section 7AA has led to confusion and conflict in a system that cannot afford to get such crucial care decisions wrong.”

VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai issued a media release in response to the repeal of 7AA. In it, CEO Tracie Shipton commented that young care-experienced people were disappointed that the change had gone ahead, saying:

“The argument for the repeal was the fact that section 7AA caused confusion in the decision making process which meant that safety wasn’t prioritised, but if you look at the Act it explicitly states that safety is paramount. […] Any failure to ensure safety isn’t a legislation issue, it’s a training and practice issue.”

Following the final reading of the Bill in Parliament on the 3^rd of April, Te Pati Māori released a statement saying that they had “sent a letter to the Governor General urging her to block the repeal of Section 7AA because it is a serious threat to the lives of our mokopuna.”

Oranga Tamariki removes operational targets for placing children in care with whānau and investment with Māori/iwi organisations

Relatedly, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has announced that Oranga Tamariki have removed their 58% target for placing children in care with wider family/whānau and their minimum 23% target for the proportion of investment with Māori/Iwi organisations.

The Minster commented that:

“These outdated departmental targets go against the ‘need not race’ directive, and there are also concerns with whether it is appropriate for this self-classification of being a Māori/Iwi organisation to be prioritised over the quality and efficacy of the services being provided.”

Oranga Tamariki consulting on 2025 Long-Term Insights Briefing

Oranga Tamariki is seeking submissions on their draft 2025 Long-Term Insights Briefing. The Briefing’s focus is, “How can we better prevent, respond to, and enable healing from, child maltreatment between now and 2040?”. This is the second round of consultation and seeks feedback on the Draft Briefing. The first round was used to decide the Briefing’s topic and method of investigated. The consultation page provides more information on making a submission, including optional guiding questions. The consultation is open to everybody, and submissions must be emailed to LTIB@ot.govt.nz by 5pm 12 May 2025.

Independent review of the Oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, final report released

Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora | Ministry of Social Development have released the Independent statutory review of the Oranga Tamariki oversight system: final report (2025). The review was undertaken by MartinJenkins and evaluates the effectiveness of the two main pieces of legislation that underpin the Oranga Tamariki system in Aotearoa:

• the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022
• the Children and Young People's Commission Act 2022.

A Child Friendly Summary is also available alongside the full Final Report.

Experiences of care in Aotearoa: agency compliance with the National Care Standards and Related Matters Regulations 2023/2024

Aroturuki Tamariki | Independent Children's Monitor (ICM) reports annually on whether agencies with custody and care responsibilities are complying with the National Care Standards (NCS) Regulations and whether they are making a difference for children and young people in care. The report on agency compliance with the National Care Standards Regulations for the period 1 July 2023 - 30 June 2024 was published in February 2025. It found that children and young people are still not receiving the minimum standard of care required by the NCS Regulations. Oranga Tamariki, Open Home Foundation, Barnardos, and Kōkiri Marae have custody and care responsibilities. Oranga Tamariki had custody of around 99 percent of the 5,722 children in care during the 2023/24 reporting period.