Media Release: Oranga Tamariki contracting of services for children needs urgent improvement says Auditor-General

Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children needs to urgently improve how it contracts social services to ensure it meets the needs of vulnerable children, the Auditor-General says in a new report.

“Decisions by Oranga Tamariki to manage its contracts with social service providers in 2024/25 were not adequately informed by evidence or an understanding of how decisions would affect children and their families,” Auditor-General John Ryan says.

“The effects of decisions on children and their families are still not known. Given that this is the core role of Oranga Tamariki, it is unacceptable for it to be in this situation.”

Oranga Tamariki is responsible for caring for and protecting some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable children. However, it cannot do its job without help and it contracts with social service providers to deliver services to children and families in need. These contracts are worth about half a billion dollars each year.

The Auditor-General inquired into the agency’s recent contracting decisions for 2024/25. The inquiry found inadequate planning, late decision-making, and providers given insufficient notice of proposed changes that affected them.

“In addition, Oranga Tamariki was slow in, or resistant to, acknowledging responsibility for errors. At its worst, its public statements appeared to blame providers for a situation that was fundamentally its responsibility.”

“Public organisations need to have sound ethical judgement, do what they say they will do, accept where they have made mistakes, and take steps to improve,” says Mr Ryan. “Oranga Tamariki did not consistently meet our expectations in this regard.”

Oranga Tamariki was entitled to make decisions about which services it wanted to purchase, including deciding to discontinue services or to enter negotiations to vary contracts. It is also important to monitor providers’ performance to ensure that public money is being spent in keeping with the contract.

“However, its approach was not informed by a comprehensive understanding of providers, their services, or most importantly the needs of children and their families. In my opinion, trust and confidence in Oranga Tamariki has been harmed and it needs to take urgent action to rebuild this,” Mr Ryan says.  

“I encourage other public organisations working with social service providers to consider the findings of this inquiry.”

The Auditor-General will monitor these issues closely and follow up with Oranga Tamariki as it makes improvements in response to the report’s four recommendations.