The Minister for Children, Anne Tolley, says she intends to write to the Social Services select committee to propose changing the name of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 to the Oranga Tamariki Act.

She says this is to reflect the nature and wide-reaching scope of changes that are taking place through the overhaul of care and protection.

“By changing the name of the Act we would be demonstrating that the new system for care and protection, under the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki, will be more than a rejig or a rebrand of CYF, and one in which the safety and wellbeing of the child comes before everything else,” she says.

“The new legislation is much more wide-reaching and incorporates the new child-centred way of working, from early intervention all the way through to transition into adulthood for vulnerable children and young people, rather than the current model which reacts to crises."

Ms Tolley says Parliament has already passed legislation to amend the CYPF Act which extends the age of state care and protection to a young person’s 18th birthday, ensures that the views of children and young people are taken into account in individual decisions and services and policies which affect them, and supports the establishment of an independent youth advocacy service.

“A second major piece of legislation to amend the CYPF Act, the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Legislation Bill, is at the select committee stage in Parliament at the moment, and I will be asking the Social Services Committee to consult with oral submitters on the potential name change,” she says.