How public outrage and media advocacy led to reforms within Oranga Tamariki

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-01-26 03:00

New Zealand

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Between 2015 and 2019, the number of babies being removed from their parents by Oranga Tamariki increased by 20 per cent. NZ researchers reflect on the lead-up and aftermath of the 2019 "Hawke's Bay case” that made national headlines and drew attention to the processes underpinning the increase. Following widespread public outrage, Oranga Tamariki drastically limited the ability of staff to access legal orders to remove babies, and the number of uplifts reduced by more than half. Authors of the study say that these statistics are encouraging, but that more meaningful measures of family outcomes need to be monitored in order to see how these rapid reforms have affected families within the child welfare system.