Oranga Tamariki hiring freeze raises concerns about child safety

Wednesday, 10 April 2024

The Law Society and Oranga Tamariki staff say a hiring freeze at the ministry on so-called back office roles could put the safety of children at risk.

The hiring freeze has stretched to include the Oranga Tamariki legal department, a team which is called on to urgently respond to child safety concerns and abuse in state care.

As a result of the hiring freeze, sources from Oranga Tamariki told Stuff the remaining lawyers were picking up extra shifts and working into the night to ensure urgent issues, such as filing for custody orders when children faced danger, weren’t missed.

But sources at the ministry are telling Stuff this is not sustainable, and even senior solicitors and managers are now looking for new jobs as the team was “already understaffed” before the freeze.

Why it matters

Oranga Tamariki has confirmed it “temporarily” stopped replacing lawyers who left the ministry, in anticipation of a wider restructure to meet a Government directive to cut “back office” spending.

But the New Zealand Law Society, Public Service Association (PSA) and sources at Oranga Tamariki say the ministry’s lawyers provide front line services which have been put at risk due to the hiring freeze.

For instance, Oranga Tamariki’s practice guidelines said its solicitors were responsible for filing without notice applications for custody of children who the ministry feared were in imminent danger.

Its practice guidelines said Oranga Tamariki solicitors should be involved when there was any concern a child was at risk, including when considering the ministry should file for an uplift order, or if there were concerns for children already in state care.

The hiring freeze has come about as the ministry looks at how it can meet the Government’s direction to cut costs.

Stuff understands Oranga Tamariki will release its plan to meet the Government’s re-prioritisation goal in the week ahead. Its chief executive, Chappie Te Kani, has been flying around the country - on his own dime - to discuss this plan with staff.

The breakdown

Almost all Government departments have been asked to find savings of between 6.5% and 7.5%.

At Oranga Tamariki, ministers have directed the ministry to cut its “back office” to fund “front line” services.

Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive Caz Anderson confirmed legal services were not considered “front line”.

An Oranga Tamariki lawyer, speaking anonymously to protect their job, told Stuff the team was braced for further cuts given it was no longer deemed “front line”.

They said that was an incorrect view, given they “go to court every day to represent the chief executive”.

In the ministry’s regional offices, Stuff understands it has lost about four lawyers who have not been replaced in recent months. For remaining lawyers, that had “doubled the work load” in some regions.

“It won’t be long before legal is overwhelmed,” the source said.

Who said what

Anderson said the workload of departed lawyers had been “distributed across the workforce”.

“Legal Services provide a critical and important enabling service to front line kaimahi and across the ministry; however, they are not a front line service,” she said.

PSA national secretary Kerry Davies called the hiring freeze “dangerous” and warned against cutting the ministry’s legal team.

“This is yet another dangerous consequence of the Government's rushed and poorly thought through cost cutting drive. It is children and their families who will bear the cost,” she said.

“They are a key support person to the social worker and ensure that the statutory obligations are carried out.

“This includes acting in the Youth and Family Courts and supporting social workers to make lawful and appropriate decisions about the care and protection of children.“

And the NZ Law Society’s family law division said it was worried about news of a hiring freeze at the ministry, saying it raised concerns about child safety.

“These lawyers have an important role in protecting children and young people who may be in need of care and protection, and we are concerned about what this means for their safety and wellbeing,” the society said, in a statement.

The society many public service lawyers were doing what should be considered “front line” work, such as appearing in court, working with the public, and ensuring police and social workers could do their jobs.

“Many roles might not appear to be front line, but they are essential to the functioning of good government and our justice system.”

Learn more

• Stuff is keeping track of public service changes, through an updated article file here.