(OT), also known as the Ministry for Children and previously the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, is a government department in New Zealand responsible for the well-being of children, specifically children at risk of harm, youth offenders and children of the State. It is the successor agency of the former department, Child, Youth and Family (CYF).
Functions and structure The minister responsible for Oranga Tamariki is the Minister for Children, a position currently held by Karen Chhour. On 31 October 2017, it was announced that the ministry would be renamed to Oranga Tamariki — Ministry for Children. Oranga Tamariki is guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The organisation is headed by a chief executive and consists of three major clusters: "Service Delivery", "Voices and Quality", and "Enabling Functions." Services Delivery consists of a "Partnering for Outcomes" group, two "Services for Children and Families" groups (one in the North Island and one in the South Island), a "Youth Justice Services" group, and a "Care Services" group. The "Voices and Quality" cluster consists of a Tamariki Advocate/Voices of Children group and a Chief Social Worker/Professional Practice group. The "Enabling Functions" cluster consists of the "Policy, Investment and Evidence" group and a "Leadership and Organisational Development group." Each of these groups is headed by a deputy chief executive.
Under the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025, an independent Crown entity known as the Independent Children's Monitor has oversight over the Oranga Tamariki child welfare system. The Monitor is supported by a three-member board including a judge. The Children's Commissioner also has oversight over children and young people under the care of Oranga Tamariki. This legislation supersedes two previous laws which replaced the Children's Commissioner with a Children and Young People's Commission.
Youth justice facilities
Oranga Tamariki also operates five youth justice residences: Korowai Manaaki and Whakatakapokai in South Auckland, Te Maioha o Parekarangi in Rotorua, Te Au rere a te Tonga in Palmerston North, and Te Puna Wai ō Tuhinapo in Rolleston. These facilities serve as both homes and remand centres for youth offenders who have been referred there by the Youth Court system. Residents consist of teenagers aged 17 years and under as well as 18-year old youths. These include youth offenders facing serious criminal charges including murder, rape, aggravated robbery, and gang connections. Residents at youth justice residences receive education, life skills training, and treatment programmes for anger, drugs, and alcohol.
As of March 2024, Oranga Tamariki operates three care and protection facilities: Epuni residence in Wellington, the Puketai residence in Dunedin and a "hub" in South Auckland called Kahui Whetū. These care and protection residences are for delinquent children and young people aged between 12 and 16 years. In addition, Oranga Tamariki runs three Youth Justice Community Homes or remand homes: Hillcrest Home in Hamilton, Te Kohanga in Rotorua, and Te Whare Awhi in Palmerston North. These exist alongside several community homes run by various social service providers including Youth Horizons Trust Kia Puāwai, Emerge Aotearoa, PACT and Te Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust.
In early March 2024, the Minister for Children Karen Chhour confirmed that Oranga Tamariki would be running a military-style academy pilot from mid-2024. The military-style academy would target the most serious youth offenders and would have a rehabilitative and trauma-informed care approach. While the programme would be led by Oranga Tamariki, it would also liaise with other agencies and include a military component. The military-style academy pilot commenced at a Palmerston North youth justice facility on 29 July 2024 with ten teenage candidates. The one-year programme consisted of a three-month residential component focused on tackling criminal behaviour through education and rehabilitation and followed by a nine-month community reintegration component.
Statistics According to figures released by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care in late July 2024, the number of children in state care had reached a peak of 1,974 in mid-2019 before dropping to 1,022 in 2022. By mid-2024, this figure had risen by 20% to 1,313.
History Oranga Tamariki is the successor organisation to the former Child, Youth and Family (CYF) department, which was dissolved down by the Fifth National Government in March 2017. Oranga Tamariki, initially known as the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, formally came into existence in November 2017. Following the formation of a Labour-led coalition government in October 2017, the Ministry for Vulnerable Children was renamed the Ministry for Children.
From May 2018 to June 2019, there were 39 reported physical assaults against the organisation's social workers.
In November 2019, Oranga Tamariki (with the Ministry of Education) investigated sex acts at a Catholic primary school in Wellington.
2019 "Uplifting" controversy
On 11 June 2019, the news website Newsroom published a series of stories including a documentary called The Uplift criticising Oranga Tamariki's practice of "uplifting" or separating children from their parents. Newsroom argued that Oranga Tamariki's "uplifting" policies disproportionately targeted Māori and Pasifika children, claiming that three Māori babies were being "uplifted" from their mothers a week. According to Newsroom's report, 70% of children "uplifted" in 2018 came from Māori and Pasifika backgrounds.
This attracted considerable media coverage and public discussion. Former Māori Party leader Dame Tariana Turia demanded the resignation of Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss. By contrast, former Families Commissioner Christine Rankin defended Oranga Tamariki's actions and criticised Newsroom for allegedly spinning it into a "race issue." Meanwhile, Christian advocacy group Family First New Zealand called for the Government to establish a fully independent watchdog for Oranga Tamariki.
On 12 June 2019, Oranga Tamariki pursued legal action against Newsroom, seeking orders for cuts to Newsroom's The Uplift story that it disputed. The agency also defended its practice of "uplifting" children, arguing that these actions were done to ensure the safety of children. On 13 June, the Family Court declined Oranga Tamariki's bid to force Newsroom and news website Stuff to change details to The Uplift story. In response to public interest, the Children's Minister Tracey Martin announced that she would meet with local iwi Ngāti Kahungunu and the Māori Council to defuse the situation. On 16 June, Martin announced that the Government would be conducting a review into Oranga Tamariki's attempted uplifting in the case of a Hawkes Bay mother and her child. The review will be led by the Chief Social Worker at Oranga Tamariki while a person appointed by Ngāti Kahungunu will provide independent oversight. On 18 June, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ruled out a royal commission of inquiry into Oranga Tamariki's practices.
On 22 August 2019, Oranga Tamariki signed an agreement with the North Island iwi Ngāi Tūhoe to ensure that fewer Māori children end up in state care. As part of the agreement, Oranga Tamariki will deal with at-risk Tūhoe children through its Whakatane office to ensure that children were moved from state care into family homes. Earlier in the year, Oranga Tamariki had signed similar partnership agreements with other Māori iwi including Waikato Tainui, Ngāi Tahu and Ngāpuhi.
In October 2019, it was reported that Oranga Tamariki was charging an Auckland dad $110 per hour to see his son. During that same month, Hawke's Bay parents refused to participate in a government review, claiming a lack of trust in the investigation.
Moss announced in January 2021 that she was "stepping down" from her position.
COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, the Minister of Health, Chris Hipkins, issued a press statement in mid-August 2020 rejecting rumours circulating within the Māori and Pasifika communities that Oranga Tamariki was taking away children whose parents had tested positive for COVID-19.
Uplifting of "Moana" In 2021, Oranga Tamariki was involved in a custody dispute over a Māori girl referred to as "Moana". The dispute was between Moana's Pākehā (New Zealand European) foster parents, "the Smiths", and Moana's iwi, Ngāti Kahungunu. The six year old Moana, who had experienced abuse and neglect at the hands of her birth mother, had been living with the Smiths for three years since 2018 in the Hawke's Bay region. The ministry and Ngāti Kahungunu wanted Moana to be placed with an elderly Māori woman known as "Mrs Taipa" and her daughter ("Ms Taipa") on the grounds that the Smiths could not meet her Māori cultural needs. On 9 September 2021, Judge Peter Callinicos dismissed Oranga Tamariki's application for Moana to be removed from the Smiths. He also criticised Oranga Tamariki for allegedly "putting ideology ahead of the child's best interests" and rejected their assertion that the Smiths were stripping Moana of her whakapapa (genealogy). Callinicos also criticised the ministry for not helping the Smiths to meet Moana's cultural needs and inaccurate statutory reports.
On 10 September, Moana's birth mother filed an appeal against Judge Callinicos's decision. Ngahiwi Tomoana, the head of Ngāti Kahungunu, who had supported the ministry's application, called for the decision to be appealed and claimed that uplifting separated Māori children from their families and communities. The mother's lawyer Janet Mason and Oranga Tamariki argued that Judge Callinicos had misapplied the statutory cultural provisions of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, had mischaracterised or overlooked evidence due to his alleged bias, and disregarded Moana's cultural and familial needs. On 9 November 2022, Wellington High Court Justice Helen Cull dismissed Moana's birth mother's appeal on all grounds and ruled that Moana could remain in the care of her Pākehā foster parents.
In early December 2022, Mason appealed the High Court's decision to the Supreme Court of New Zealand, arguing that the 2019 amendments to the Oranga Tamariki Act strengthened Treaty of Waitangi commitments.
On 20 March 2023, the Smiths relinquished custody of Moana, citing the stress caused by the ongoing legal battle for her care caused by the ongoing appeals, lack of support from Oranga Tamariki's Napier office, and numerous false reports of abuse. Mrs Smith described the decision as "heartbreaking" and stated that they were "still grieving the loss of our daughter in our home" and wanted Moana to be part of their family's lives. Oranga Tamariki's East Coast regional manager Julie Tangaere described Moana's case as "highly sensitive" and "distressing," but asserted that its involvement had been consistent with the implementation of the Court's plans. Former Assistant Māori Commissioner for Children Glenis Philip-Barbara stated that Māori children deserved to be both safe and with their whānau (family). In response, the ACT Party claimed that the parents had been bullied by Oranga Tamariki because of their race and advocated the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989.
In late July 2025, High Court justice Helen Cull ordered Oranga Tamariki to pay NZ$108,000 in indemnity costs to Moana's foster parents and criticised the Ministry's campaign against the parents. Oranga Tamariki's North Taranaki and Whanau Services national commissioner Alison Cronin said the Ministry would comply with the court ruling.
Malachi Subecz abuse case