The Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC; mi, Manaakitia A Tatou Tamariki) is an independent New Zealand

Crown entity A Crown entity (from the Commonwealth term ''Crown'') is an organisation that forms part of New Zealand's state sector established under the Crown Entities Act 2004, a unique umbrella governance and accountability statute. The Crown Entities Act i ...

that was established under the

Children's Commissioner Act 2003 The Children's Commissioner Act 2003 (Public Act no 121 2003) is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament. It reformed the office of the Children's Commissioner as the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) and implemented the United Nations C ...

. Its main responsibilities are to protect the rights, health, welfare, and wellbeing of minors under the age of 18 years.

Functions and responsibilities

The Office of the Children's Commissioner's statutory functions are outlined in the

, the

Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 The Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 or Children's and Young People's Well-being Act 1989 (titled the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 prior to 14 July 2017) is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament that was passed in 1989. The Act' ...

(formerly known as the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989), the Oranga Tamariki (Residential Care) Regulations 1996, the Crimes of Torture Act 1989, and the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004. Key responsibilities include: *Protecting the rights, health, welfare, and wellbeing of children and young people under the age of 18 years. *Monitoring the services provided under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. *Developing the means of consultation with children. *Promoting the implementation of the

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...

. As the equivalent of office known as the

Children's Ombudsman A children's ombudsman, children's commissioner, youth commissioner, child advocate, children's commission, youth ombudsman or equivalent body is a public authority in various countries charged with the protection and promotion of the rights of chil ...

in several countries, the OCC conducts investigations as to whether the rights or welfare of a child or children have been prejudiced. Their investigations can cover almost anything except courts and tribunals. The Children's Commissioner has the power to require information or documentation as part of their investigation. Under the provisions of the

and

Oranga Tamariki (Residential Care) Regulations 1996 Oranga Tamariki, 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 offen ...

, the OCC has some oversight over

Oranga Tamariki Oranga Tamariki, 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 offen ...

(the Ministry of Children), the government department responsible for the well-being of vulnerable children and young people. These responsibilities include encouraging Oranga Tamariki to develop policies and services that meet the welfare needs of children and young people, and receiving reports from Oranga Tamariki inspectors visiting the homes of children in residential care at least once a year.

History

Prior to 2003, the Office of the Children's Commissioner's predecessor was the Commissioner for Children, which was established under Part 9 of the

(then known as the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989). Following the passage of the Children's Commissioner Act 2003, the OCC assumed the functions and responsibilities of the former Commissioner for Children. Holders of the office have been of differing opinions on the controversy over the

autopsy images of Ngatikaura Ngati Ngatikaura Ngati was a New Zealand-Tongan people, Tongan toddler who died of child abuse in January 2006. The deliberate judicial release of official autopsy photographs after the trial of his killers, for the subsequent distribution of those images ...

Proposed replacement

In November 2021, the Sixth Labour Government introduced legislation to replace the Children's Commissioner with two new entities: the "

Children and Young People's Commission A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

" that would focus on advocacy and an Independent Children's Monitor who would assume the Commissioner's monitoring responsibilities. In addition, the Ombudsman's Office would also expand its portfolio to investigating complaints relating to children. The proposed law change was driven by the Government's concern that the Office of the Children's Commissioner's advocacy role would clash with its monitoring role. The Labour Government's plans to replace the Children's Commissioner attracted criticism from the Children's Commissioner

Frances Eivers Frances Jean Eivers is a New Zealand District Court judge; she is Māori and is a member of the Ngāti Maniapoto iwi. In October 2021 she was appointed Children's Commissioner for New Zealand. Biography Eivers was born and brought up in Te Teko ...

, several children's advocates including

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

, former Oranga Tamariki chief executive Luke Fitzmaurice, "VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai" spokesperson Tupua Urlich, children's advocate Piwi Beard, Manaaki Rangatahi,

Barnardos Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same group ...

and the

Child Poverty Action Group Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is a UK charity that works to alleviate poverty and social exclusion. History The Group first met on 5 March 1965, at a meeting organised by Harriett C. Wilson. It followed the publication of Brian Abel-Smith ...

(CPAG). They expressed concerns that the Government's changes would reduce the office's ability to monitor the wellbeing of vulnerable children and advocate for their interests. In addition, the Government's changes were opposed by its support partner, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

, and the opposition

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, ACT, and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

parties. Despite vocal civil society and political opposition, the Labour Party was able to use its parliamentary majority to push through two new laws replacing the Children's Commissioner with the Children and Young People's Commission and splitting oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system between the new Independent Monitor and Ombudsman.

List of office holders

Notes and references

External links

{{Official website, https://www.occ.org.nz/

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

New Zealand Crown entities Ombudsmen in New Zealand