Previously known as the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan, this initiative is now called the Oranga Tamariki System Action Plan.
The Action Plan is a legislative requirement under the Children’s Act 2014. The Act requires the chief executives of children’s agencies to work together to achieve the outcomes of the Child and Youth Strategy. This is to improve outcomes for the core populations of interest to Oranga Tamariki.
Why the name has changed
This updated name better reflects the shared ownership of the mahi across children’s agencies and the wider system – which has always been the purpose of the plan.
While Oranga Tamariki leads coordination, the plan belongs to all children’s system agencies – with system-wide collaboration across government being critical to the changes it drives.
The new name removes any confusion and reflects the shared responsibility across agencies. It recognises that no single agency can meet the needs of our most vulnerable children and young people alone – and that real, cross-agency effort is needed.
Latest Implementation Report
Children’s agencies are required to report back to the child and youth ministers on the implementation of the Action Plan every six months. The child and youth ministers approved the latest update in March 2025 [PDF, 451 KB] reporting on the period July to December 2024.
During this reporting period, children’s agencies have been making strong progress in key focus areas under the Action Plan. Highlights of key progress include:
- Gateway service redesign: Oranga Tamariki, Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand and the Ministry of Education have completed the detailed service design and options for implementation, which have now been endorsed by ministers. Agencies have developed a prototype for a new Gateway service and are exploring options to test this model in different regional settings.
- Enhanced visibility of children in care within the health system: Oranga Tamariki and health agencies have developed policy options to improve information sharing and communication and referral processes. Advice on key policy parameters is currently being finalised for ministers.
- Review of student aide support: Oranga Tamariki has completed a review of student aide support. The recommendations from the review have been included as proposed initiatives under the 2025/26 focus areas.
- Supported housing service for young people with multi-layered needs:
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has delivered 45 placements in Auckland and Hamilton, with the remainder expected to be available later in 2025. - Information sharing with the Ministry of Education: An information sharing agreement between Oranga Tamariki and the Ministry for Education was signed in August 2024. Since then, a successful data matching pilot has been completed, and work is underway to establish a reliable data-sharing process.
New mahi ahead
Ministers have approved new focus areas for the Action Plan for 2025/26. These initiatives are focussed on embedding and expanding what works – across health, education, housing and data sharing:
- Gateway and trauma-informed health services: Implementing and piloting the redesigned model, improving practice guidance.
- Improved education support: Launching the new Gateway education profile to capture holistic educational needs, and finalising details around student aide funding.
- Stronger housing transitions: Reviewing accommodation models and helping young people access support they’re entitled to.
- Data and information sharing: New agreements with agencies including Health NZ, Corrections and ACC to improve visibility and accountability.
These initiatives seek to address systemic issues and improve how the children’s system works together to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children and young people.
This work is guided by recent reviews – including the Experiences of Care in Aotearoa report from Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children’s Monitor – and reflects the priorities of ministers and leaders across the system.