Report released on the public inquiry into the disappearance of the Phillips children

The report on the Public Inquiry into the Disappearance of the Phillips Children (“the Inquiry”) has been made public. Key findings from the Inquiry include:

• Government agencies could have done more to mitigate the risk of the children being taken away and to recover them earlier
• Government agencies underplayed, minimised, or overlooked the harm Tom Phillips caused by isolating the children
• Concerns of the maternal whānau were often minimised as being part of a parenting dispute

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Background

The Inquiry, led by the Honourable Simon Moore KC, was established in the aftermath of Tom Phillips' disappearance. He first disappeared with his three children in September 2021 and did not return for 18 days. After he returned, he again took them back into the bush in December 2021 and evaded authorities for nearly four years until 8 September 2025 when he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Police.

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The Inquiry’s scope

The inquiry was directed to inquire into:

• The nature and extent of the involvement government agencies had with Mr Phillips and the children before and after their disappearance
• How Mr Phillips obtained and maintained a gun licence, weapons, and ammunition

Government agencies include any and all public sector agencies that either had an actual or potential role to play in Family Court proceedings regarding the children, in locating the children after their disappearance, or in the children’s safety or welfare from their disappearance until they were located.

Matters that were outside the inquiry’s scope include:

• Government agency involvement with the children after they were located on 8 September 2025
• Extensive litigation in the Family Court involving the children and that litigation is ongoing or under appeal, or news media challenges to court-imposed restrictions
• Legislative, administrative, and policy settings for the New Zealand firearms licensing system
• The inquiry has no power to determine the civil, criminal, or disciplinary liability of any person but may, in exercising its powers and performing its duties, make findings of fault or recommendations that further steps be taken to determine liability.

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Findings

The report groups findings across the categories of Police, Oranga Tamariki, Ministry of Education, Education Review Office, NZDF and Firearms.

The Inquiry noted two clear themes across their findings:

“The harm caused by Tom Phillips isolating the children from family, friends and society was underplayed, minimised or overlooked by agencies for significant periods. So too were concerns of the maternal whānau, which were often minimised as being part of a parenting dispute.

“That, while agencies worked well together at times, over the period from 30 September 2021 (when the children returned from the first disappearance) to 8 September 2025 (when the children were recovered), a more consistent and collaborative interagency approach could have prevented the children’s disappearance and brought them back sooner.”

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Minimising whānau concerns

The report states that the Phillips children’s maternal whānau, including their mother Cat Christey and older half-siblings Anna* and Jane*, did everything in their power to keep the children safe before, during, and after their disappearances. However, they were met with repeated inaction by government agencies. Agencies failed to recognise Cat’s experiences of intimate partner violence, and to fully consider the children’s disappearances through the lens of family violence. The report also notes that Cat, her whānau, and the Phillips children themselves are tangata Māori, while Tom Phillips and his family are Pākeha.

“In addition, the failure of Oranga Tamariki to meaningfully engage with the maternal whānau was reflective of a broader failure to recognise and promote the connection of the children to their whakapapa, in accordance with the principle of whanaungatanga. Oranga Tamariki did not appear to take into account the particularly significant cultural impacts of the children being isolated from their mother and other maternal family members.”

The children’s older sisters Anna* and Jane* also advocated repeatedly with agencies for their siblings’ safety, with minimal responses from agencies involved. Jane called Oranga Tamariki the day after Phillips and the children reappeared after the first disappearance with her concerns. Despite multiple attempts to escalate, Oranga Tamariki refused to meet with her, did not treat her contact as a report of concern, and did not “take any additional steps to understand either the immediacy of her concerns or explore the foundation of them.” Instead, Oranga Tamariki made a home visit to Tom Phillips and the children. According to the report, in their safety and risk screen, the social worker assessed the children as “safe” and described Tom Phillips as “a very capable and loving father” who was “well supported by his parents”.

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Cat Christey’s interview with MATA Reports

In a documentary about the disappearances of her children Cat Christey told MATA Reports:

"I would like to see anybody else endure what I have endured for all these years. People think that this started … when Thomas abducted the children the first time. This started long before that. This has been going on for a long, long time."

She described Tom Phillips as very controlling, “a dictator”, who had physically and psychologically abused her. Police failed to respond when she raised concerns with 111 about his firearms. After they separated, Tom Phillips was able to apply to homeschool them without Cat’s consent. She also said that after her children were abducted, police refused to make a referral to Victim Support as they believed Cat and her older children were not victims of a crime.

Auckland University associate professor of law Carrie Leonetti also spoke with MATA Reports, disputing the police conclusion at the time:

"This abduction, I think, was an act of child abuse, but it was also an act of domestic violence against these children's mother. Taking children and saying, 'You will not see them for three years, they will live or die depending on what I decide' is an act of domestic violence."

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Lack of interagency collaboration

The report draws attention to missed opportunities for interagency collaboration, both before and after the second disappearance.

Before the second disappearance:

• Police failed to provide all information to Oranga Tamariki after the first disappearance – in turn, Oranga Tamariki did not take all practicable steps to fully understand concerns raised by the Police
• Oranga Tamariki failed to identify and advise the Family Court of the risk of Tom Phillips isolating the children’s mother from them and did not adequately engage with the Family Court at the hearing on 6 October 2021
• Ministry of Education could have contributed to a multi-agency response, but did not do so, and along with the Education Review Office should have reviewed Tom Phillips’ application for home schooling the children.

After the second disappearance:

• Police should have developed a Police-led multi-agency response from the outset
• Oranga Tamariki should have had ongoing contact with Police and missed an opportunity for engagement with the Family Court
• The Defence Force (NZDF) should have better communicated with Police to understand the investigation team’s requests for support and could have encouraged multi-agency collaboration via a working group early in the investigation.

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Government responses

The Government has accepted all the Inquiry’s findings, alongside NZ Police and Oranga Tamariki. In a Beehive press release, Hon Louise Upston apologised to the Phillips children directly and acknowledged:

“Significant opportunities were missed, particularly between the two disappearances. The Inquiry found that the harm caused by Tom Phillips isolating the children from family, friends and society was underplayed, minimised or overlooked by agencies for significant periods. So too were concerns of the maternal whānau, which were often minimised as being part of a parenting dispute.”

In a press release, Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Amanda Malu said:

“The Report makes for difficult and at times harrowing reading. It identifies opportunities that were missed to keep these children safe. I would particularly like to acknowledge the courage shown by the children's mother and older siblings, we did not listen in the way we should have, and this family deserved better from us.”

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said in a press release:

“Police acted commendably by making a report of concern to Oranga Tamariki. However, it is clear there were gaps in information-sharing and follow-up discussions. That is a joint responsibility, and it is important we get that right.”

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Related research

Review of children's participation in the family justice system of Aotearoa New Zealand, Dr Deborah Inder (2022)

This government-commissioned review of children’s participation in the family justice system found that the Family Court’s treatment of children falls short of best practice and, at times, risks placing them in harm’s way.

Ensuring strong and effective safety nets to prevent abuse of children, Dame Karen Poutasi (2022)

This government-commissioned review into the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz examined the role of six public sector agencies who were involved with his care. It identified critical safety gaps in the system around risk assessment, information sharing and lack of reporting when prosecuting sole parents of dependent children. See Vine’s previous news story on the Poutasi review and news story on the coronial inquest into Malachi’s death.