2Interpretation

1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   care and protection co-ordinator means a care and protection co-ordinator appointed by the chief executive pursuant to section 423

   care and protection resource panel means a care and protection resource panel established pursuant to section 428

   care or protection order means 1 or more of the following:

   1. an interim custody order described in section 78(1) or (1A):
   2. an order described in section 83(1)(a):
   3. an order described in section 83(1)(b):
   4. an order described in section 83(1)(c):
   5. a services order under section 86:
   6. an interim services order under section 86A:
   7. a restraining order under section 87:
   8. an interim restraining order under section 88:
   9. a support order under section 91:
   10. an interim support order under section 92:
   11. a custody order under section 101:
   12. an order under section 110 appointing a guardian of a child or young person:
   13. an interim guardianship order under section 110AA

   chief executive means, subject to any enactment, the person holding office as the chief executive of the department

   child means a person under the age of 14 years

   child abuse means the harming (whether physically, emotionally, or sexually), ill-treatment, abuse, neglect, or deprivation of any child or young person

   child and family support service means any organisation or body approved by the chief executive as a child and family support service pursuant to section 396(3)

   child welfare and protection agency means—

   1. the department:
   2. the Department of Corrections:
   3. the Ministry of Health:
   4. the Ministry of Social Development:
   5. the Ministry of Education:
   6. the Ministry of Justice:
   7. the New Zealand Police:
   8. Housing New Zealand Corporation:
   9. every registered community housing provider (as defined in section 2(1) of the Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Act 1992):
   10. Health New Zealand:
   11. every school board (as defined in section 15(1) of the Children’s Act 2014):
   12. every early childhood service (as defined in section 10(1) of the Education and Training Act 2020):
   13. any person, body, or organisation that provides regulated services (as specified in Schedule 1 of the Children’s Act 2014):
   14. any organisation or class of organisation designated as a child welfare and protection agency by regulations made under section 447(1)(ga)(i)

   Children’s Commissioner means the Commissioner holding that office under section 11 of the Children’s Commissioner Act 2022

   community service means any service approved by the chief executive as a community service pursuant to section 403

   convene, in relation to a family group conference, means to take the appropriate steps under sections 20 and 25 (in the case of a family group conference authorised or required under Part 2) or under sections 247 and 253 (in the case of a conference authorised or required under Part 4) in order to cause the conference to meet; and reconvene has a corresponding meaning

   court, in relation to Parts 2, 3, and 3A, means the Family Court, and in relation to Parts 4 and 5, means the Youth Court

   cultural social service means any incorporated body approved by the chief executive as a cultural social service pursuant to section 396(2)

   custody means the right to possession and care of a child or young person

   delegate includes a subdelegate

   department means the department that is, with the authority of the Prime Minister, for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act

   document means a document in any form; and includes—

   1. any writing on any material:
   2. any information recorded or stored by means of any tape-recorder, computer, or other device; and any material subsequently derived from information so recorded or stored:
   3. any label, marking, or other writing that identifies or describes any thing of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means:
   4. any book, map, plan, graph, or drawing:
   5. any photograph, film, negative, tape, or other device in which 1 or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced

   enforcement agency means—

   1. the New Zealand Police:
   2. any department as defined in section 5 of the Public Service Act 2020, including any departmental agency hosted by the department:
   3. any interdepartmental venture as defined in section 5 of the Public Service Act 2020:
   4. a local authority

   enforcement agency office means—

   1. a Police station:
   2. any premises occupied by—
      1. any department as defined in section 5 of the Public Service Act 2020, including any departmental agency hosted by the department:
      2. any interdepartmental venture as defined in section 5 of the Public Service Act 2020:
      3. any local authority

   enforcement officer means—

   1. any constable:
   2. an enforcement officer (as defined in section 2(1) of the Land Transport Act 1998):
   3. any person acting in the course of their official duties (being duties that consist of or include the detection, investigation, or prosecution of offences) as an officer or employee of—
      1. the public service as defined in section 5 of the Public Service Act 2020 (other than an officer or employee of the public service performing the functions of an agency referred to in section 10(a)(iii) of that Act; or
      2. a local authority

   ex parte application means an application made without notice to the respondent to the application

   family group, in relation to a child or young person, means a family group, including an extended family,—

   1. in which there is at least 1 adult member—
      1. with whom the child or young person has a biological or legal relationship; or
      2. to whom the child or young person has a significant psychological attachment; or
   2. that is the child's or young person's whanau or other culturally recognised family group

   family group conference,—

   1. in relation to Part 2, means a meeting convened or reconvened by a care and protection co-ordinator in accordance with section 20:
   2. in relation to Part 4, means a meeting convened or reconvened by a youth justice co-ordinator in accordance with section 247 or section 270 or section 281 or section 281B

   family resource centre means any premises that provide temporary accommodation for a child or young person and any person who has the care of that child or young person, where that accommodation is provided as part of a programme designed to provide assistance to that person

   guardianship has the meaning given to it by section 15 of the Care of Children Act 2004; and guardian has a corresponding meaning, and includes, without limitation, a person who is a guardian by virtue of this Act

   Health New Zealand has the meaning in section 4 of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022

   health practitioner has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003

   held, in relation to information, includes—

   1. deemed, for the purposes of the Official Information Act 1982, to be held (see section 2(4) and (5) of that Act):
   2. held by officers or employees or members of organisations or entities that are not subject to the Official Information Act 1982

   hospital has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992

   Independent Monitor of the Oranga Tamariki System has the same meaning as in section 8(1) of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022

   independent person means—

   1. a practitioner registered under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 who provides health or disability support services:
   2. a children’s worker (as defined in section 23(1) of the Children’s Act 2014):
   3. a person or class of persons designated as an independent person by regulations made under section 447(1)(ga)(ii)

   iwi authority means the authority that represents an iwi and that is recognised by the iwi as having authority to do so

   iwi social service means any incorporated body approved by the chief executive as an iwi social service pursuant to section 396(1)

   lay advocate does not include any person who is a barrister or solicitor

   mana tamaiti (tamariki) means the intrinsic value and inherent dignity derived from a child’s or young person’s whakapapa (genealogy) and their belonging to a whānau, hapū, iwi, or family group, in accordance with tikanga Māori or its equivalent in the culture of the child or young person

   medical practitioner means a health practitioner who is, or is deemed to be, registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand continued by section 114(1)(a) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 as a practitioner of the profession of medicine

   Minister means, subject to any enactment, the Minister who is, with the authority of the Prime Minister, for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act

   near relative means a grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, or sister; and includes a brother or sister of the half-blood as well as of the full-blood

   non-Schedule 1A offence means an offence that is not specified in Schedule 1A and that is within the jurisdiction of the Youth Court

   parent, in relation to a child, includes a step-parent of the child, but only if the step-parent shares responsibility for the day-to-day care of the child with a parent of the child

   permanent caregiver, in relation to a child or young person, means—

   1. a special guardian; or
   2. a person—
      1. appointed as a guardian of the child or young person under section 27 of the Care of Children Act 2004, where that appointment was made in substitution for an order under section 78, 101, or 110 of this Act, or for an agreement under section 140 of this Act; and
      2. who has the day-to-day care of the child or young person pursuant to a parenting order made under section 48 of the Care of Children Act 2004 or because there is no other guardian who has the day-to-day care of the child or young person

   psychologist means a health practitioner who is, or is deemed to be, registered with the Psychologists Board continued by section 114(1)(a) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 as a practitioner of the profession of psychology

   related charge means a charge for a non-Schedule 1A offence that the Youth Court has determined under section 276AA(4) to be related to a charge for a Schedule 1A offence

   residence—

   1. means any residential centre, family home, group home, foster home, family resource centre, or other premises or place, approved or recognised for the time being by the chief executive as a place of care or treatment for the purposes of this Act; and
   2. includes any place of care or treatment, so approved, whether administered by the Crown or not; but
   3. does not include—
      1. a prison; or
      2. a hospital or a facility within the meaning of the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003; or
      4. a children's health camp operated by Children's Health Camps—The New Zealand Foundation for Child and Family Health and Development

   Schedule 1A offence means an offence specified in Schedule 1A

   secure care, in relation to a child or young person in a residence established under section 364, means containment in that residence within a locked room or enclosure with visible physical barriers

   social worker means a person employed in the department as a social worker

   special guardian means a guardian of a child or young person appointed under section 110 who is appointed as a special guardian under section 113A

   subsequent child means a child, born or unborn, who has a parent who is a person described in section 18B

   tikanga Māori means Māori customary law and practices

   traffic offence means—

   1. any offence against the Road User Charges Act 2012, the Land Transport Act 1998, or the Land Transport Management Act 2003 or against any secondary legislation made under any of those Acts:
   2. any offence against any secondary legislation made under any other Act if the offence relates to the use of motor vehicles or parking places or transport stations

   UNCROC means the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

   victim has the meaning given in section 2B

   well-being, in relation to a child or young person, includes the welfare of that person

   whakapapa, in relation to a person, means the multi-generational kinship relationships that help to describe who the person is in terms of their mātua (parents), and tūpuna (ancestors), from whom they descend

   whanaungatanga, in relation to a person, means—

   1. the purposeful carrying out of responsibilities based on obligations to whakapapa:
   2. the kinship that provides the foundations for reciprocal obligations and responsibilities to be met:
   3. the wider kinship ties that need to be protected and maintained to ensure the maintenance and protection of their sense of belonging, identity, and connection

   working day means a day of the week other than—

   1. a Saturday, a Sunday, Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, the Sovereign’s birthday, Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki/Matariki Observance Day, and Labour Day; and
   2. if Waitangi Day or Anzac Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday; and
   3. a day in the period commencing with 25 December in a year and ending with 15 January in the following year; and
   4. in relation to a requirement to file a document with any court or to supply a document before a sitting of any court,—
      1. the day observed as the anniversary of the province in which the court is situated; and
      2. any other day that is observed by the court as a court holiday

   young person means a person of or over the age of 14 years but under 18 years and also has an extended meaning that includes some young adults for certain purposes under section 386AAA

   youth advocate means a barrister or solicitor appointed under section 248A or 323 to represent a child or young person

   youth justice co-ordinator means a youth justice co-ordinator appointed by the chief executive pursuant to section 425

   youth justice residence has the same meaning as in section 365(4).

2. In this Act, any reference to the chief executive includes a person who is a delegate of the chief executive or a subdelegate of that delegate irrespective of whether the provision in which the chief executive is referred to contains a reference to a delegate of the chief executive.

3. Where any proceedings are being considered or have been taken in respect of any offence allegedly committed by a person when that person was a child or young person, the age of that person at the date of the alleged offence shall be that person's age for the purpose of—

4. whether there is jurisdiction to take any proceedings in respect of that alleged offence, and, subject to paragraph (d), which court has jurisdiction in respect of proceedings that may be taken; and
5. the proceedings taken,—
but nothing in this subsection shall—
6. require or authorise any family group conference in respect of the alleged offence before or at any stage of the proceedings if, at the time the conference would otherwise be required, that person has attained the age of 19 years; or
7. require any proceedings to be taken in the Youth Court if, at the time the charging document is filed, that person has attained the age of 19 years; or
8. derogate from the provisions of section 6 of the Sentencing Act 2002 (which shall apply in respect of proceedings under Part 4 as if the proving of a charge was a conviction).

9. Where any charging document is filed in the District Court pursuant to subsection (2)(d), section 322 shall apply, with all necessary modifications, to the proceedings.

10. Where any proceedings have been taken under Part 2 in respect of any alleged incident, the age of any child or young person at the date of the alleged incident shall be that person's age for the purpose of the proceedings.