Questions on reservations, legislation, policy and strategy - Children’s Convention from the United Nations

Please provide information about the following:

Question 4(a)

1. Steps taken with a view to withdrawing its general reservation and its reservations to articles 32 (2) and 37 (c) and to extending the application of the Convention to the Territory of Tokelau;

Reply to 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.

Question 4(b) and (c)

2. Bringing domestic legislation relating to children into line with the Convention;
3. The establishment of the Oranga Tamariki, Ministry for Children, in 2017;

Reply to 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.

Question 4(d)

4. Adopting a comprehensive policy and strategy for the implementation of the Convention and the Optional Protocol thereto on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the Optional Protocol thereto on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography;

Reply to 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)).

Question 4(e)

5. The implementation of the child impact assessment best practice guidelines and making its use obligatory, including during the allocation of public resources.

Reply to 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).

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