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. As the equivalent of office known as the Children's Ombudsman 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, the OCC has some oversight over Oranga Tamariki (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 The Sixth Labour Government has governed New Zealand since 26 October 2017. It is headed by Jacinda Ardern, the Labour Party leader and prime minister. Following the 2017 general election held on 23 September, the New Zealand First party h ...

introduced legislation to replace the Children's Commissioner with two new entities: the " Children and Young People's Commission" 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, former Oranga Tamariki chief executive Luke Fitzmaurice, "VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai" spokesperson Tupua Urlich, children's advocate Piwi Beard, Manaaki Rangatahi, Barnardos and the Child Poverty Action Group (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 Crown entities Ombudsmen in New Zealand