Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I present a legislative statement on the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.

Hon ERICA STANFORD: I move, That the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a second time.

This bill was introduced on 12 November 2024, the day that the Prime Minister apologised on behalf of the Crown to survivors of abuse and neglect in care. The Government knew that the apology would be hollow without action. This bill is an action that demonstrates our ongoing commitment to respond to the abuse in care royal commission of inquiry. Work on this bill was quickly progressed by the Minister for Children, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Internal Affairs in response to the royal commission. It’s an example of the cross-Government work to analyse the royal commission’s recommendations and to respond to them. This bill is aligned with several of the royal commission’s recommendations. It directly addresses some of them and addresses the intent of others. The Government is determined to strengthen the safety of children, young people, and adults in State care, now and into the future.

I want to acknowledge the survivors who shared their experiences with the royal commission, and I also want to acknowledge the survivors who submitted and spoke to the select committee on this bill. They gave important context to the work of the committee. There were 42 individual submitters on the bill—at least seven of whom were survivors. Some were also members of the deaf and disabled community. There were 27 organisations that submitted on the bill. This included organisations with survivors who spoke to the committee during its hearings. Thank you to all of you.

I also want to thank the other individuals and organisations that made submissions and contributed to the committee process and to some improvements in the bill. Overall, the sentiment of most of the submitters was in support of the amendment bill, with very few submitting against it entirely. The bill amends four pieces of legislation. The first amendment provides the workforce restrictions in the Children’s Act, preventing people with certain overseas convictions from working with children. The second amendment to the Crimes Act includes a reference to disability in the definition of a “vulnerable adult” in the Act to make our obligations to disabled people in care explicit. The third amendment is to the Oranga Tamariki Act to change the search powers and clarify the time frame for secure care to improve safety and wellbeing in Oranga Tamariki residences. Finally, the fourth is updating the Public Records Act to encourage improved record-keeping and ensure an appropriate response where poor practice is identified.

The bill will strengthen the children’s worker safety regime in the Children’s Act. This change aligns with the royal commission’s recommendation 58. The changes will strengthen protections to safeguard children from potential harm by those working with or caring for them. There was widespread support for this change during the select committee process. No person or organisation submitted against it. Core workers are children’s workers who have primary responsibility for a child while working with or caring for them. Core workers are employed by the State sector or a Government-funded organisation to provide regulated services. Under this bill, it will be unlawful to employ a core worker if they have an overseas conviction for an offence that is equivalent to a New Zealand offence or a conviction for certain offences involving harm against minors in the Prostitution Reform Act. This will mean people who have been convicted overseas for offences of serious harm—including harm against children—cannot be core workers. However, there will be review and appeal rights for people to seek an exemption. This must be on the basis they do not present an undue risk to the safety of children. I’ve directed officials to undertake further work to identify options for improved safety-checking requirements as part of our response to the commission’s recommendations.

Safety and wellbeing in secure youth justice residences will be improved by the amendment to the Oranga Tamariki Act authorising universal searches. Currently, visitors, staff, and contractors cannot be searched on entry to these residences. This change enables searching of them for harmful items. Oranga Tamariki will communicate the new search powers to visitors, staff, and contractors so that they understand the new rules when they come into effect. Submitters on the Oranga Tamariki changes supported the introduction of an approved search plan, developed with children and young people, and the removal of the authority to strip-search children and young people in residences. Search plans will now take account of a child or young person’s need and preferences and their experiences. Children and young people will now be able to request that their plans be updated. Doing this aligns with the royal commission’s recommendation 78 to have fit-for-need and individualised care. The changes to the Oranga Tamariki Act will also clarify the maximum time a young person can remain in a secure care unit without judicial oversight. A minor clarifying change to this amendment is also being made as a result of the select committee. To be clear, the first day a child is in secure care is counted as one of the three days they may be in secure care before judicial oversight is required. Oranga Tamariki and the select committee heard from care-experienced young people about these changes. I want to acknowledge and thank them for contributing to the select committee process.

As recommended by the royal commission, the Crimes Act will be amended to add disability to the definition of a “vulnerable adult”. This change directly responds to recommendation 26 of the royal commission’s final report. In the Crimes Act, someone is a “vulnerable adult” when they are unable to remove themselves from care. The vulnerability is created by the inability to withdraw from the care or charge of another. It is not about any inherent characteristics of the person in care. The Crimes Act change will make it clear, for those caring for disabled adults, that they have a statutory duty towards them. The royal commission and the select committee heard the concerns raised by the deaf and disabled community about the use of the term “vulnerable”. The commission recommended the change, understanding these concerns, and the amendment has been supported by the select committee.

Care-experienced people place significant value on information about their time and care. It helps them understand their history, their experiences, and who they are. Many survivors have shared stories about the poor experiences when seeking access to their care records. The select committee heard these stories. They provide important context to the changes being made to the Public Records Act. The bill will introduce new powers for Archives New Zealand and the Chief Archivist to support improvements in record-keeping practices. These changes also received widespread support. There were no submissions that were against the change. Submitters suggested there should be more transparency around the action plans and performance notices that will be put in place using these new powers. A change to the Public Records Act will see these things reported in the Chief Archivist’s annual reports. Public reporting on action plans and performance notices will provide additional incentives for agencies to improve their record-keeping. The committee also heard that powers of the Chief Archivist could be strengthened—for example, by enabling audits of contracted providers. Work to improve record-keeping aligns with recommendations made by the royal commission in both its redress report and its final report. The work is ongoing.

Thank you to everyone who made a written submission and who spoke to the select committee. This was an important step in the progress of this bill. Thank you to the select committee for their consideration of the bill and for the minor amendments to improve the bill. We appreciated the good-faith engagement on the introduction and first readings of this bill, and we hope this can continue across the House today as I move that this bill will be read for a second time. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate interrupted.