General measures of implementation - UNCROC - Sixth Periodic Report by the Government of New Zealand 2021

Reply to Reservations, legislation, policy and strategy - 4(a)

New Zealand supports Tokelau as a non-self-governing territory to improve children’s rights so it may eventually have the capacity to be compliant. This would allow New Zealand to extend the Convention to Tokelau, after consultation with the Government of Tokelau. New Zealand works with and supports Tokelau to ensure that the provisions and protections of the Convention apply to children in Tokelau. Over this reporting period, New Zealand’s investment in internet, transport, education and health has assisted the Government of Tokelau to improve children’s right to life, survival and development, and the best interests of the child. New Zealand and Tokelau are also initiating reforms and training to strengthen Tokelau’s law and justice services, and to improve community resilience to the impacts of climate change on Tokelau’s low-lying atolls. 

The start of a five-year programme of advisory support to Tokelau’s schools and Department of Education was highlighted in our previous report. The New Zealand Education Review Office confirmed in 2018 that this assistance resulted in improvements in primary and early childhood education. New Zealand has recently committed $4 million to enabling the Tokelau Department of Education to continue raising the quality of education services and to implement Tokelau’s new secondary and digital education strategies, which broaden study and career pathways for young Tokelauans. New Zealand is also scaling up specialist support for educating children with disabilities.

Reply to Reservations, legislation, policy and strategy - 4(b) and 4(c)

Following the final Expert Advisory Panel report titled “Investing in New Zealand’s Children and their Families”, the Government established Oranga Tamariki–Ministry for Children (Oranga Tamariki) on 1 April 2017. The work undertaken by Oranga Tamariki was previously performed by the Child, Youth and Family agency within the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).

Oranga Tamariki was set up to deliver a child-centred care, protection and Youth Justice system, focused on delivering better long-term outcomes for children. The agency also plays a broader role across Government to strengthen the wider support system for children, young people and their families. Read the Investing in Children Report (PDF 8.84MB)

Oranga Tamariki’s new operating model aims to make a difference for a child at the earliest possible point. This is achieved by keeping more children and young people safely with their families, whānau (family), hapū (subtribe), iwi (tribe), or, where that is not possible, providing children and young people with high quality alternative care; and ensuring that children and young people in care or custody can transition to independence, with appropriate support. Read the Implementing the operating model cabinet papers

Two noteworthy sets of reform were made to the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 (OTA). The first set of reforms were passed in 2016 and came into effect from 1 April 2017. The changes included:

• an extension to the provision of the statutory Care and Protection system to young people aged 17 years. This reform directly responds to a recommendation from the Committee to raise the age of criminal majority to 18 years (recommendation 45(b) CRC/C/NZL/CO/5)
• the repeal of sections 141 and 142 of the OTA and introduction of the National Care Standards (NCS) brought New Zealand closer in line with the Convention by ensuring disabled children have the same care mechanisms, protection and safeguards as other children in the statutory care system.
• embedding the views of children and young people at a systemic and individual level under the OTA.

A second set of legislative changes to the OTA took effect from 1 July 2019. The legislation included:

• a broader range of professionals to perform a wider set of functions under the OTA
• specific duties on the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki to recognise and provide a practical commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi
• changes to the purposes and principles of the Act to better ensure children and young people are at the centre of decision-making while considering them within the context of their families, whānau, hapū, iwi, family groups, and broader networks and communities
• a requirement to have regulations that prescribe the actions or steps that must be taken to help ensure that children and young people receive an appropriate standard of care
• provisions giving young people the right to remain or return to living with a caregiver until the age of 21, with transition support and advice available up to age 25
• strengthened information sharing provisions to keep vulnerable children and young people safe from harm
• a requirement for Oranga Tamariki to have one or more child-centred complaints mechanisms in place
• consideration of the Children’s Convention in decisions.

In August 2020, the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill was introduced. See the reply to paragraph 12(a) for further information.

Reply to Reservations, legislation, policy and strategy - 4(d)

The Government launched the first version of the CYWS in August 2019 to help make New Zealand the best place in the world to grow up. This includes complying with international obligations for children, including under the Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The CYWS provides an overarching framework for central government policy development and services for children and young people. It provides a unifying message or way of talking about child and youth wellbeing in New Zealand and enable collective action to improve child and youth wellbeing. The CYWS’ framework includes a vision to aspire to nine principles (including the principle that “children’s and young people’s rights need to be respected and upheld”), six wellbeing outcomes to set the direction, and a set of 36 indicators to measure progress over time. It is accompanied by a working Programme of Action that the Government will deliver on and add to over the next one to five years.

The CYWS does not currently directly link to the Optional Protocols to the Convention. However, this may be an action that is considered in the future as the Strategy is reviewed and broadened,

MSD leads a cross-agency Children’s Convention work programme. This was approved by Cabinet in 2018 in response to the recommendations from the Committee’s 2016 concluding observations. The work programme is monitored by the Children’s Convention Monitoring Group and the Children’s Convention Deputy Chief Executives group. They meet biannually to provide a cross-agency focus on key children’s rights issues, which include the below workstreams:

• expanding community-based options across all relevant settings to reduce the use of detention for children and young people (led by Oranga Tamariki and New Zealand Police (Police))
• implementing an anti-bullying strategy and work programme with a strong focus on student voice and agency (led by MOE)
• developing training for public servants on children’s rights and the Children’s Convention (led by MSD, with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner)
• finalising the Child Impact Assessment Tool and its implementation across government agencies (led by MSD)
• establishing a data leadership working group to coordinate and improve data collection and dissemination in relation to children and young people (led by Stats NZ)
• implementing and making the Privacy, Human Rights and Ethical Framework for data use publicly available, including predictive modelling (led by MSD)
• implementing a work programme for the prevention of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, including measures targeting potential offenders, children and young people and parents and guardians of children and young people (led by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), with New Zealand Customs (Customs)).

Reply to Reservations, legislation, policy and strategy - 4(e)

The Child Impact Assessment Tool (CIAT) aims to help Government agencies and non-government organisations assess the impact of policy or legislative proposals on the wellbeing of children and young people. MSD published guidance on carrying out a child impact assessment in 2018 but this its use is not compulsory. Read Improving the wellbeing of children and young people in New Zealand (PDF 970KB)

The Treasury New Zealand (Treasury) acknowledges the CIAT in its guidance for assessing the regulatory impact of policy proposals and encourages its use where impacts on children are anticipated. While Treasury does not require agencies to use the CIAT at this stage, proposals seeking public resources are scrutinised and the relative effectiveness of spending proposals are evaluated.

Treasury has also developed a tool to support cost benefit analysis of policy initiatives, which can inform resource allocation. This tool includes some disciplined consideration to a range of factors that affect children (for example health and wellbeing, education, and social connections).

Reply to Allocation of resources - 5(a)

The Treasury tracks child-related expenditures through the annual budget process.

The first wellbeing budget (2019) had a priority focus (one of five) on improving child wellbeing. A summary of the investments through this priority area are available online.

The Treasury has also committed to developing a child wellbeing component to its Flexible Living Standards Framework – which represents the Treasury’s perspective on what matters for New Zealanders’ wellbeing, now and into the future – in 2021.

Reply to Allocation of resources - 5(b)

New Zealand has well established processes for civic engagement in investment of public funds. At the broadest level this involves free and fair elections. The public can also submit to Parliament on the Budget Policy Statement.

The national Budget process is not consulted on publicly, however, the CYWS and its outcomes and priorities were used to assess Budget bids for the 2020 Budget process. Significant consultation with children and young people was undertaken to ensure this group were directly involved in the development of the CYWS, supporting children’s indirect involvement in the 2020 national Budget.

For local budgets, officials are working with local councils to co-design resources and guidance to help local councils embed the CYWS framework into their broader strategies and business planning, including budget allocation. This will enhance public participation in these processes.

Reply to Allocation of resources - 5(c)

In response to COVID-19, the Government has run a deficit, while maintaining existing government service provision and providing additional support for those most affected. This enabled the Government to increase expenditure to support New Zealand businesses through the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy and other substantial income support measures. Expenditure on COVID-19 measures was initially funded from increased debt. In December 2020, the Government increased the marginal tax rate for high income earners, in part to manage increased debt in the long term.  This measure increased the progressivity of the tax system.

Income Support Measures

In response to COVID-19 in 2020, MSD implemented several rapid changes to the income support system to better support people (including children) affected by the public health response and its economic impact. These include:

• a permanent $25 per week increase to all main benefits
• a wage subsidy to help maintain employment for affected businesses
• the COVID-19 Leave Payment to support people who had the virus or had to self-isolate (including caregivers of dependants who had the virus or had to self-isolate)
• the temporary doubling of the Winter Energy Payment for winter 2020
• the COVID-19 Income Relief Payment to support people who had lost employment due to COVID-19 and the public health response
• operationally increasing the maximum amount available to meet emergency food costs by $400.

The Child Poverty Report

The Child Poverty Report, released each year as part of the Budget process, is one way in which the Government takes account of the impact of major events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest Child Poverty Report was released with the 2020 Budget.

COVID-19 Support for Youth

Young people have been significantly affected by the uncertainty of COVID-19 in terms of employment, accommodation or having their normal support systems impacted throughout lockdown. A programme of work is underway to ensure there is psychosocial support available to youth (in ways that young people expressed they want to access support).

A Social Impacts Evidence Agenda Working Group has been formed to help identify emerging strategic policy priorities and evidence needs for different business areas across MSD, relating to the social impacts of COVID-19 and the associated economic downturn. As part of this, research will be undertaken to better understand the impact COVID-19 has had on young people to inform the development of further actions for the Youth Plan 2020-2022: Turning Voice into Action – Rebuilding and Recovering, which was launched on 29 July 2020.

COVID-19 support for Māori and Pacific young people

The Pacific Health COVID-19 Response is a subset of the COVID-19 Health and Disability System Response Plan and aims to achieve equitable health outcomes for Pacific people in New Zealand in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes ensuring the rights and health needs of Pacific people, including children and young people are addressed.

Health services provided in secondary schools have prioritised responding to Māori and Pacific students.

COVID-19 support for families, including disabled children

Carer Support and Individualised Funding services introduced more flexibility so that families and whānau could access disability supports during lockdown. For example, families could purchase items that would provide them with respite such as weighted blankets, or fidget toys for their disabled children to help them to sleep or reduce anxieties.

The Government is working to ensure the complex health and social needs of young people in the custody of Oranga Tamariki are met, particularly if the need for Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) arises.

During all levels of the COVID-19 response, the Courts remained operational as an essential service, at a reduced level. Triaging was put into effect to ensure that matters requiring immediate intervention were still heard in a timely way (such as care and protection applications and family violence related care of children applications). Public-facing guidance was updated at each of the alert levels to ensure that plain English information around the requirements was available to parents and caregivers. At Alert Level 4 the Principal Family Court Judge also issued guidance on children in shared care pursuant to Family Court orders. MOJ also provided a range of other information on its website:

• Chief Victims’ Advisor – Support available for victims during isolation,
• Family and Sexual Violence Helplines,
• Q+A for shared parenting in Alert Level 4 that was on the website during level 4, which also had a high number of hits during this time.

New Zealand’s MIQ system provides information on support for young people in their welcome pack for all returnees to New Zealand. The Procedures for Unaccompanied Children and Young People includes guidance for MIQ staff working with children and young people. This helps ensure that ‘the unique needs of unaccompanied children and young people in managed isolation facilities are identified and accommodated so as to ensure that their rights under relevant legislation, international human rights treaties and guidelines are protected’.[4] This document also notes that all children under 18 fall under the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Child Protection Policy. [1]

Oranga Tamariki expect that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of children, young people, families, and whānau coming to the attention of Oranga Tamariki and the complexity of needs presenting will increase. Those who require additional support will be responded to effectively by way of:

• early support services that draw on community networks and strengths
• intensive response services to keep children at higher risk of harm safely living with their usual caregivers wherever possible, or to be cared for by extended family, whānau, hapū or iwi
• transition support services for young people who are about to leave, or who have left care that are flexible and responsive to the changing employment environment, potentially providing more support to some and to a larger group of young people than previously anticipated.

As part of the all-of-government response to COVID-19, the Government has also formed ‘Caring for Communities’ (C4C), a group of Senior Public Servants including Chief Executives and their officials. The group acts as an intermediary group to support agencies, regions, and communities by working together across Government to ensure an effective system-wide response to issues as they arise. The group has worked with non-government and community providers and informal networks to ensure rapid and ongoing support for at-risk children and young people. To specifically support Māori, Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK) – the Ministry of Māori Development has a focus on Māori children through regional networks within the C4C work.

The prioritisation framework for the delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine, once available, will take an equity approach to delivery and consider the rights of all children as part of this approach.

Reply to Data collection - 6(a)

Methods of data collection in relation to children and young people in New Zealand include the:

• Census – a five-yearly Census of Population and Dwellings provides population counts of children by ethnicity and disability status. It also provides information on the household and family circumstances of children including socio-economic status, housing, and employment.
• Household Economic Survey (HES) – for measuring statistics in relation to the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018.
• Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) – The quarterly Household Labour Force Survey provides information on the labour force status of households and families with children. It also provides information on the labour force status of adults aged 15 and over disaggregated by ethnicity and disability.
• Youth Health and Wellbeing Survey - a nationwide survey of young people in New Zealand.
• Wellbeing@School survey. [2]
• New Zealand Health Survey – runs annually (since 2011) collecting health and wellbeing information on adults and children.
• General Social Survey - provides information on the wellbeing of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over.
• Te Kupenga - collects information on the social, cultural, and economic wellbeing of Māori in New Zealand, including information from a Māori cultural perspective.

Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ) has identified the HES as the most effective survey for measuring child poverty statistics in relation to the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018. To provide a more accurate picture of child poverty in New Zealand, Stats NZ have expanded the survey’s sample size to at least 20,000 households, and improved targeting of low-income or high-deprivation households.

The CYWS has 36 indicators for measuring and reporting against its outcomes. The indicators will be built on and improved over time, as work across government progresses on improving the quality of data or collecting new or different data on children and young people’s wellbeing.

Ngā Tūtohu Aotearoa – Indicators Aotearoa New Zealand contains wellbeing indicators that reflect an internationally growing vision to provide a more holistic view of wellbeing and sustainable development. These indicators are collections of data and research that help us measure the state or condition of particular aspects of our wellbeing. Key child wellbeing indicators include:

• child poverty
• early childhood education participation
• literacy, numeracy, and science skills of 15-year-olds
• harm against children.

Stats NZ’s integrated data products are critical tools in the Government’s effort to reduce poverty, improve health, and provide a growing, inclusive economy. Stats NZ maintains and provides access to two integrated data products – the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) and the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD). These products bring together a wide variety of data from government and non-government organisations on topics like health, social services, education, wellbeing and justice.

Reply to Data collection - 6(b)

Children’s health

The Ministry of Health (MOH) uses the annual New Zealand Health Survey and income data (in relation to child poverty) from the Household Income Report to monitor and evaluate health outcomes for New Zealanders. These findings support the monitoring of key health issues for children, including where improvements are being made and where there is room for improvement. The key results from 2018-2019 (and other related reports) can be found on the MOH website.

Read Annual Update of Key Results 2018/19: New Zealand Health Survey

Read Child and youth health data and stats

Children in the care and protection and youth justice systems

Oranga Tamariki carries out a range of data and indicators through its work with children and families/whānau and the delivery of services, all of which support the implementation of the Convention through identifying the areas where policies, programmes and projects are working, as well as identifying where new ones are required.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) collects data around ethnicity, age, and gender of users of the Family Court to assist with analysis of both the current system and options for change. MOJ proactively publishes some of this data, including about the effect of COVID-19 Alert Level 4 on the District Court, Family Court and Youth Court.

Tamariki Māori (Māori children)

TPK monitors the collection of data and indicators concerning Māori, including through the Māori Data Sovereignty Network (Te Mana Raranga) which focuses on the integrity and ownership of data on Māori.

This system ensures the cultural adequacy of services for tamariki Māori. TPK is also working on creating indicators that are mapped against the Whānau Ora Outcomes Framework to show how wellbeing from a whānau Māori perspective might be quantified.

Transport for Children

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) have developed a set of Transport Indicators to monitor the performance of the New Zealand transport system for children. This ensures they can access a range of rights including to education, family, health, play and religion. Child-specific indicators include:

• percentage of children unable to visit a general practitioner due to a lack of transport (breakdowns by ethnicity, household income, age, gender and region)
• number of hours spent on active travel among children aged 0-14 years.

MOT also routinely reports on other indicators through different reporting mechanisms, such as the annual reporting for the Government Policy Statement on land transport and Road the Zero: New Zealand’s road safety strategy. Example indicators include:

• percentage of children travel to/from school by active modes
• percentage of urban schools with 30-40 km/h speed limits
• percentage of car occupants using a seatbelt or child restraints.

Reply to Children’s rights and the business sector - 7(a), 7(b) and 7(d)

All businesses operating in New Zealand are subject to New Zealand law, including employment law, human rights law, and commercial law.

Businesses that have a direct impact on children and young people, including those subject to advertising and broadcasting standards are subject to child-specific laws in New Zealand as well as international obligations under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) and certain International Labour Organisation Conventions.

New Zealand is a signatory to the OECD Multi-National Enterprise guidelines. The guidelines are intended to help the private sector grow their business responsibly by promoting human rights and boosting social development around the world.

New Zealand has recently updated its government procurement policy framework to include expectations and requirements regarding human and labour rights. In October 2019, the new Government Procurement Rules (the Rules) came into effect. One of the new Rules requires government contracts to set out the expectation that suppliers and their contractors comply with employment standards and health and safety requirements (including child employment standards). In addition, the Rules include a Government Procurement Charter that sets out the Government’s expectations for agencies’ procurement activities. One of the expectations in the Charter is that agencies engage with businesses with good employment practices, including respecting international standards relating to human and labour rights including for children.

The Supplier Code of Conduct (2019) sets the expectations for suppliers who provide goods and services to the Government. The Supplier Code of Conduct includes an expectation that suppliers adhere to international human rights standards in their workplace and monitor and address these standards within their supply chains. This Code covers all suppliers to government and their subcontractors.

HealthCERT within MOH, regulates healthcare service care providers as required under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001. This includes providers providing hospital level care such as children’s health services and maternity services (for example, district health boards (DHBs) or private birthing units).

MSD and Oranga Tamariki assess all their contracted providers through the Social Services Accreditation (SSA) who provide accreditation on behalf of six Government agencies (Oranga Tamariki, MOJ, Department of Corrections (Corrections), MSD, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and Ministry of Pacific Peoples). The SSA assesses providers against a set of accreditation standards. The standards:

• are based on a levels framework and vary depending on the type of service a provider delivers
• include standards relating to community wellbeing (paramountcy of the child and young person), cultural competence and client centred services. The community wellbeing standard specifically references the Convention
• include specific care services standards where children in State care are placed with providers. These standards also highlight the requirement to provide services that meet requirements set out in the NCS.

The Children's Act 2014 introduced a workforce restriction, which means it is unlawful to employ a core children’s worker with certain serious criminal offences unless they hold a core worker exemption. People subject to the workforce restriction can apply for a core worker exemption through SSA. This considers a number of key factors including the what the offence was and how long ago it occurred, and steps taken in the time since to show changed behaviour.

Read Core worker exemptions 

Reply to Children’s rights and the business sector - 7(c)

The consultation process for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the earlier Trans-Pacific Partnership, has been among the most extensive a New Zealand Government has undertaken for a trade negotiation. Wide consultation was undertaken before New Zealand ratified the Agreement, and a broad range of stakeholders provided feedback on a wide range of topics.

Public sessions were held in a number of cities and regional centres across New Zealand. The majority of these public sessions were dedicated to question and answer time, with officials recording feedback to brief Ministers.

Government officials also conducted focused briefings with a range of other stakeholders including civil society, business and industry groups, Māori (including the Federation of Māori Authorities and representatives of the Iwi Leaders’ Forum). Issues pertaining to children were not prominent in the submissions.

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Footnotes

1. Please refer to the response to Issue 16(d) for further information. Return to text
2. See reply to paragraph 25(j) for more information on Wellbeing@School. Return to text