A new report from Aroturuki Tamariki | Independent Children’s Monitor has delivered a sobering assessment of New Zealand’s care and protection system, finding that Māori children and young people continue to experience significant unmet needs that contribute to their disproportionate involvement with Oranga Tamariki and the youth justice system.
The report, Outcomes for Tamariki and Rangatahi Māori and Their Whānau in the Oranga Tamariki System 2024/25, is the second annual review of how the wider oranga tamariki system is performing for Māori children, young people and their whānau.
Its findings paint a troubling picture of a system that continues to respond too late, allowing many tamariki and rangatahi Māori to progress through multiple layers of intervention before receiving the support they need.
Māori Remain Disproportionately Represented
While most Māori children have no involvement with Oranga Tamariki, the report found Māori remain significantly overrepresented throughout the system.
Although Māori make up just 27 percent of New Zealand’s youth population, they account for:
- 57 percent of all reports of concern made about children’s safety and wellbeing.
- 68 percent of all children and young people currently in care.
- 59 percent of police proceedings involving young people aged between 10 and 18.
- 80 percent of young people held in youth justice custody.
The figures reinforce concerns that Māori children continue to be disproportionately drawn into state intervention systems despite decades of policy reforms, reviews and commitments aimed at reducing inequities.
Repeated Warnings Before Action
One of the report’s most alarming findings relates to repeated notifications about children’s wellbeing.
The monitor found that most Māori children who had a report of concern made about them in the past year had already been reported previously.
One in four had accumulated ten or more reports of concern before meaningful intervention occurred.
The report also found that critical and highly urgent reports involving Māori children were less likely to receive timely responses from Oranga Tamariki compared with other cases.
Aroturuki Tamariki Chief Executive Arran Jones says these findings suggest the “front door” of the child protection system is not functioning as intended.
The report argues that if support was delivered earlier and more effectively, fewer children would experience repeated notifications and fewer would progress into care or youth justice systems because of unmet needs.
Link Between Care Failures and Youth Offending
The report draws a strong connection between early care and protection concerns and later youth justice involvement.
Among rangatahi Māori who entered the youth justice system:
- Ninety-five percent had previously been the subject of reports of concern about their safety or wellbeing.
- Half had received more than ten reports of concern during childhood.
- More than half had never participated in a care and protection family group conference, a key process designed to create plans that address safety and wellbeing concerns before they escalate.
The findings suggest many opportunities for early intervention are being missed.
Rather than addressing the underlying causes of harm, the report argues significant resources are often directed towards managing offending behaviour after problems have become deeply entrenched.
The monitor says greater investment in addressing care and protection concerns at an earlier stage could help reduce the number of Māori young people entering the youth justice system in the future.
Poorer Outcomes Across Every Measure
The report also examined broader life outcomes for Māori children and young people involved with Oranga Tamariki.
Across almost every measure assessed, outcomes were significantly worse than for Māori children who had never been involved with the system.
Areas examined included:
- School attendance
- Health outcomes
- Employment
- Driver licensing
- Use of emergency housing
The report found that Māori who had never been involved with Oranga Tamariki obtained driver licences at similar rates to non-Māori. However, Māori children and young people within the system experienced substantially poorer outcomes.
Children in care were also found to stay in care for longer periods than non-Māori and were less likely to receive regular visits from social workers.
For many advocates, these findings reinforce concerns that involvement with the care and protection system can become associated with long-term disadvantage rather than improved outcomes.
Māori-Led Solutions Showing Promise
Despite the challenges highlighted, the report points to several examples of successful iwi-led and community-based initiatives that are achieving positive results.
These programmes focus on prevention, whānau-centred support and local decision-making, often working in partnership with Oranga Tamariki while maintaining strong Māori leadership.
The report suggests future progress will depend on greater investment in flexible commissioning models and stronger support for iwi, Māori and community-led solutions.
Rather than government agencies leading every aspect of service delivery, the report argues that communities should be empowered to design and deliver solutions that reflect local needs and cultural realities.
Calls for Faster Change
The findings arrive at a time of ongoing debate about the future direction of child welfare policy in New Zealand.
The overrepresentation of Māori in care and youth justice systems has remained a persistent issue for successive governments, despite numerous inquiries and reform efforts.
Aroturuki Tamariki’s latest report suggests the solutions have been known for many years, but implementation remains too slow.
The monitor says faster action is needed if New Zealand is serious about reducing disparities and breaking cycles of intergenerational involvement in care and protection systems.
For Māori leaders, the report reinforces calls for a greater focus on prevention, whānau empowerment and kaupapa Māori approaches that place communities at the centre of decision-making.
As policymakers consider the findings, the report serves as a powerful reminder that behind every statistic is a child, a whānau and a future that depends on getting support at the right time.
The challenge now is whether the system can move from identifying the problem to delivering the transformative change Māori children and families have been waiting for.
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